George Pocock
| George Pocock | |
|---|---|
Vice-Admiral George Pocock, by Thomas Hudson
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| Born | 6 March 1706 |
| Died | 3 April 1792 (aged 86) Curzon Street, Mayfair |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Great Britain
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| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
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| Years of service | 1718–1766 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held |
HMS Cumberland East Indies Station |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards | Knight of the Bath |
Admiral Sir George Pocock, KB (6 March 1706 – 3 April 1792) was a British officer of the Royal Navy.
Pocock was born in Thames Ditton in Surrey, the son of Thomas Pocock, a chaplain in the Royal Navy. His great grandfather was Rev. Dr. Laurence Pocock, Rector of Brightwalton in Berkshire, and his ancestors had long been resident at adjoining Chieveley in the same county.
George Pocock entered the navy in 1718, serving aboard HMS Superb under the patronage of his maternal uncle, Captain Streynsham Master (1682–1724). He became lieutenant in April 1725 and commander in 1733. In 1738 he was promoted to post-captain and granted command of the 20-gun HMS Aldborough. After serving in the West Indies he was sent to the East Indies Station in 1754 as captain of the 58-gun HMS Cumberland with Rear-Admiral Charles Watson. Watson's squadron co-operated with Clive in the conquest of Bengal. In 1755 Pocock became rear-admiral, and was promoted to vice-admiral in 1756.
On the death of Watson in 1757 Pocock took the command of the naval forces in the East Indies. In 1758 he was joined by Commodore Charles Steevens (d. 1761), but the reinforcement only raised the squadron to seven small line-of-battle ships. War being now in progress between France and England the French sent a naval force from their islands in the Indian Ocean into the Bay of Bengal to the assistance of Pondicherry. To intercept the arrival of these reinforcements for the enemy now became the object of Pocock. The French force was indeed of less intrinsic strength than his own. Comte D'Aché who commanded it had to make up his line by including several Indiamen which were only armed merchant ships. Yet the number of the French was superior and Pocock was required by the practice of his time to fight by the old official fighting instructions. He had to bring his ships into action in a line with the enemy, and to preserve his formation while the engagement lasted.
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