George Willes
Admiral Sir George Ommanney Willes GCB (19 June 1823 – 18 February 1901) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.
Sir George Willes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 June 1823 |
| Died | 18 February 1901 (aged 77) London |
| Allegiance |  |
| Service/ |  |
| Years of service | 1838-1888 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | HMS Chesapeake HMS Impérieuse HMS Prince Consort China Station Portsmouth Command |
| Battles/wars | Crimean War Second Opium War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Early life
Born at Hythe, Hampshire in 1823, Willes was the son of Captain George Willes, RN, by his wife Anne Lacon, daughter of Sir Edmund Lacon, Baronet.[1] He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth, and joined the Royal Navy in 1838.[2]
Naval career
Willes received his commission as Mate in 1842, and as Lieutenant in 1844,[1] his early career being uneventful until the outbreak of the Crimean War, when he took part in the bombardment of Odessa and of Fort Constantine at Sevastopol in 1854.[2] In April that year he was promoted Commander, and in May 1856 Captain.[1] He was given command of the frigate HMS Chesapeake in 1859,[3] and of HMS Impérieuse in 1861. In both cases as Flag Captain to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.[2] In this capacity he took part in the Battle of the Taku Forts during the Second Opium War.[4]
In 1864 he was made Captain of the ironclad warship HMS Prince Consort.[2]
He became Admiral-Superintendent at Devonport in 1876 and Commander-in-chief, China Station in 1881.[2] His last post was as Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth in 1886.[2] He retired in 1888.[2]
Family
In 1855 he married Georgiana Matilda Josephine, daughter of William Joseph Lockwood and granddaughter of Sir Mark Wood, 1st Baronet. His younger brother was the cricketer Edmund Willes.[2][5][6]
See also
- O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). . . John Murray – via Wikisource.
References
- "Obituary - Admiral Sir George Willes". The Times (36382). London. 19 February 1901. p. 8.
- Sir George Willes at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Memorials in Portsmouth Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Sir George Ommanney Willes William Loney RN
- Burke's Landed Gentry, 18th Ed., 1969, vol. II, 'Willes formerly of Newbold Comyn' pedigree
- The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms, L. G. Pine, London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972, page 170
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Coote |
Commander-in-Chief, China Station 1881–1884 |
Succeeded by Sir William Dowell |
| Preceded by Sir Geoffrey Hornby |
Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth 1886–1888 |
Succeeded by Sir John Commerell |