William Bowles (Royal Navy officer)
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
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Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Bowles, KCB (25 May 1780 – 2 July 1869) was a senior Royal Navy officer and Conservative Party politician. After serving as a junior officer in the French Revolutionary Wars, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Zebra and took part in the bombardment of Copenhagen in September 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars. As commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS Medusa, he took part in operations off the north coast of Spain and led a naval brigade in a raid on Santoña.
Bowles went on to be Commander-in-Chief,
Early career
Born the son of William Bowles and Dinah Bowles (daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas Frankland), Bowles joined the Royal Navy in September 1796.[2] He was assigned to the third-rate HMS Theseus in the Channel Squadron and saw action off Cádiz during the French Revolutionary Wars.[3] Promoted to midshipman, he transferred to the third-rate HMS Captain in June 1797, to the corvette HMS Daphne in the North Sea early in 1798 and to the fifth-rate HMS Hydra in November 1800.[3] After that, he moved to the fifth-rate HMS Acasta in the Mediterranean Fleet and then to the sloop HMS Driver.[3] Promoted to lieutenant on 30 August 1803, he transferred to the fifth-rate HMS Cambrian on the North America and West Indies Station, then to the fourth-rate HMS Leander and then to the fifth-rate HMS Milan.[3]
Promoted to commander on 22 January 1806, Bowles became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Zebra in March 1807 and took part in the bombardment of Copenhagen in September 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars.[3] Promoted to captain on 13 October 1807, he went on to command the third-rate HMS Warspite in June 1809 and the fifth-rate HMS Medusa in June 1810.[3] In HMS Medusa, he took part in operations off the north coast of Spain and led a naval brigade in a raid on Santoña.[3] He next became commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS Aquilon in March 1811 and saw action in the Baltic Sea before becoming commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS Nemesis in April 1811 and sailing with her for duties off the West Coast of Africa.[4] He served on trade protection duties off the Río de la Plata during 1813.[3]
Promoted to commodore, Bowles became Commander-in-Chief, South America Station, with his broad pennant in the fifth-rate HMS Amphion, in 1816 and then became commanding officer of the yacht HMY William & Mary early in 1822 before moving on to be Comptroller-General of the Coast Guard in July 1822.[5] In a paper published in 1830 entitled Remarks on the Conduct of the Naval Administration of Great Britain he argued for the introduction of steam warships and the creation of a gunnery school: the latter ambition was realised with the formation of HMS Excellent later that year.[2] He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 12 April 1839.[6]
Senior command
Promoted to
Promoted
Family
On 9 August 1820, Bowles married The Hon. Frances Temple, daughter of the late Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston and sister of the Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston who became Secretary at War and later Prime Minister; they had no children.[3]
References
- ^ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/60818. Retrieved 14 February 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Heathcote, p. 29
- ^ Winfield, p. 221
- ^ a b c Heathcote, p. 30
- ^ "No. 19726". The London Gazette. 19 April 1839. p. 833.
- ^ "No. 20044". The London Gazette. 24 November 1841. p. 3015.
- ^ Craig, p. 175
- ^ "No. 20346". The London Gazette. 24 May 1844. p. 1762.
- ^ "No. 21300". The London Gazette. 12 March 1852. p. 769.
- ^ "No. 22070". The London Gazette. 8 December 1857. p. 4329.
- ^ "No. 22679". The London Gazette. 10 November 1862. p. 5343.
- ^ "No. 23017". The London Gazette. 26 September 1865. p. 4587.
- ^ "No. 23191". The London Gazette. 27 November 1866. p. 6468.
- ^ "No. 23462". The London Gazette. 26 January 1869. p. 407.
Sources
- ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
- Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Pen & Sword. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
- Winfield, Rif (2007). ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Bowles
- William Loney Career History
- O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). John Murray – via Wikisource. . .