William Bowles (Royal Navy officer)
| Sir William Bowles | |
|---|---|
Sir William Bowles
|
|
| Born | 1780 Salisbury, Wiltshire |
| Died | 2 July 1869 Hill Street, London |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1796–1860 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands held |
HMS Zebra HMS Warspite HMS Medusa HMS Aquilon HMS Nemesis South America Station HMY William & Mary Portsmouth Command |
| Battles/wars |
French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Bowles, KCB (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 of the north coast of Spain and led a naval brigade in a raid on Santoña.
Bowles went on to be Commander-in-Chief, South America Station before becoming Third Naval Lord in the Second Peel ministry as well as Member of Parliament (MP) for Launceston in Cornwall. He published a number of papers arguing for innovations in naval warfare and naval administration before becoming Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.
Born the son of William Bowles and Dinah Bowles (daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas Frankland), Bowles joined the Royal Navy in September 1796. He was assigned to the third-rate HMS Theseus in the Channel Squadron and saw action off Cádiz during the French Revolutionary Wars. 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. After that he moved to the fifth-rate HMS Acasta in the Mediterranean Fleet and then to the sloop HMS Driver. 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.
...
Wikipedia