 On 8 January 1652, he made the widow Anna van Gelder his third wife and bought a house in Flushing for his proposed retirement, which however lasted less than a year.During the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652–1654, De Ruyter agreed to join the expanding Dutch fleet as a junior flag-officer or "commandeur", a rank broadly comparable to that of commodore, commanding a Zeelandic squadron of "director's ships", which were privately financed warships, after he had initially refused the post on the grounds that others were better qualified for it.De Ruyter proved his worth under the supreme commander lieutenant-admiral Maarten Tromp.