“ During the war with the Dutch in 1664–1665 Sandwich commanded a squadron under the duke of York and distinguished himself in the battle off Lowestoft on the 3rd of June 1665. When the duke retired later in the same year he became commander-in chief, and he directed an unsuccessful attack on some Dutch merchant ships which were sheltering in the Norwegian port of Bergen ”

“ Though one of Cromwell’s intimate friends, he took little part in public affairs until 1653, when he was appointed a member of the council of state. His career as a seaman began in 1656, when he was made a general-at-sea, his colleague being Robert Blake. Having taken some part in the operations against Dunkirk in 1657, he was chosen a member of Cromwell’s House of Lords, and in 1659 he was sent by Richard Cromwell with a fleet to arrange a peace between Sweden and Denmark. ”