Admiral of the FleetEdward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke,KBPC (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781) was aRoyal Navy officer and politician. As captain of thethird-rateHMS Berwick, he took part in theBattle of Toulon in February 1744 during theWar of the Austrian Succession. He also captured six ships of a French squadron in theBay of Biscay in thesecond Battle of Cape Finisterre in October 1747.

The Right Honourable The Lord Hawke KBPC
First Lord of the Admiralty
In office 1766–1771
Prime Minister	Lord Chatham Duke of Grafton Lord North
Preceded by	Sir Charles Saunders
Succeeded by	Lord Sandwich
Personal details
Born	(1705-02-21)21 February 1705 London, England
Died	17 October 1781(1781-10-17) (aged 76) Sunbury-on-Thames, England
Resting place	St. Nicolas' Church, North Stoneham,Hampshire
Profession	Naval officer, politician
Military service
Allegiance	Great Britain
Branch/service	Royal Navy
Years of service	1720–1781
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands	HMSWolf HMS Flamborough HMS Portland HMS Berwick HMS Neptune Western Squadron Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth
Battles/wars	War of the Austrian Succession Battle of Toulon Second Battle of Cape Finisterre Seven Years' War Battle of Quiberon Bay

Hawke went on to achieve a victory over a French fleet at theBattle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759 during theSeven Years' War, preventing aFrench invasion of Britain. He developed the concept of aWestern Squadron, keeping an almost continuous blockade of the French coast throughout the war.

Hawke also sat in theHouse of Commons of Great Britain from 1747 to 1776 and served asFirst Lord of the Admiralty for five years between 1766 and 1771. In this post, he was successful in bringing the navy's spending under control and also oversaw the mobilisation of the navy during theFalklands Crisis in 1770.

Hawke was the only son of Edward Hawke, abarrister ofLincoln's Inn, and his wife Elizabeth Bladen,^[1] a daughter of Nathaniel Bladen of Hemsworth in Yorkshire, and widow of Col. Ruthven.^[2] Hawke benefited from the patronage of his maternal uncle,ColonelMartin Bladen, aMember of Parliament.^[3][4][2]

Hawke joined the navy as a volunteer in thesixth-rateHMS Seahorse on theNorth American Station in February 1720.^[5] Promoted tolieutenant on 2 June 1725, he transferred to thefifth-rateHMS Kingsale on the West Coast of Africa later that month, to thefourth-rateHMS Portland in theChannel Squadron in April 1729 and to the fourth-rateHMS Leopard in November 1729.^[5] After that he moved to the fourth-rateHMSEdinburgh in theMediterranean Fleet in May 1731, to the sixth-rateHMS Scarborough in January 1732 and to the fourth-rateHMS Kingston, flagship of CommodoreSir Chaloner Ogle, Commander-in-Chief of theJamaica Station, in December 1732.^[5]

After this, Hawke's career accelerated: promoted tocommander on 13 April 1733, he became commanding officer of thesloopHMS Wolf later that month and promoted tocaptain on 20 March 1734, he became commanding officer of the sixth-rateHMS Flamborough later that month.^[5] The following year he went onhalf-pay and did not go to sea again until July 1739 when he was recalled to become commanding officer of HMSPortland on the North American Station and was sent to cruise in theCaribbean with orders to escort British merchant ships. He did this successfully, although it meant his ship did not take part in theBritish attack on Porto Bello in November 1739 during theWar of Jenkins' Ear.^[6]

Hawke became commanding officer of thethird-rateHMS Berwick in June 1743: he did not see action until theBattle of Toulon in February 1744 during theWar of the Austrian Succession. The fight at Toulon was extremely confused, although Hawke had emerged from it with a degree of credit.^[7] While not a defeat for the British, they had failed to take an opportunity to comprehensively defeat the Franco-Spanish fleet when a number of British ships had not engaged the enemy, leading to a masscourt martial.^[8] Hawke's ship managed to capture the only prize of the battle, the Spanish shipPoder, although it was subsequently destroyed by the French.^[9] He was then given command of thesecond-rateHMS Neptune in August 1745.^[5]

Despite having distinguished himself at Toulon, Hawke had few opportunities over the next three years. However, he was promoted torear admiral on 15 July 1747^[10] and appointed Second-in-Command of theWestern Squadron, with his flag in the fourth-rateHMS Gloucester in August 1747. He went on to replace AdmiralPeter Warren as theCommander-in-Chief, English Channel in charge of theWestern Squadron, with his flag in the third-rateHMS Devonshire, in October 1747.^[11] Hawke then put a great deal of effort into improving the performance of his crews and instilling in them a sense of pride andpatriotism.^[12]The Western Squadron had been established to keep a watch on the French Channel ports. Under a previous commander,Lord Anson, it had successfully contained the French coast and in May 1747 won theFirst Battle of Cape Finisterre when it attacked a large convoy leaving harbour.^[13]

The British had received word that there was now an incoming convoy arriving from the West Indies. Hawke took his fleet and lay in wait for the arrival of the French. In October 1747, Hawke captured six ships of a French squadron in theBay of Biscay in theSecond Battle of Cape Finisterre. The consequence of this, along with Anson's earlier victory, was to give the British almost total control in theEnglish Channel during the final months of the war.^[14] It proved ruinous to the French economy, helping the British to secure an acceptable peace at the negotiations for theTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.^[15]

For Hawke, however, the arrival of peace brought a sudden end to his opportunities for active service. In December 1747, he was elected as aMember of Parliament for the naval town ofPortsmouth, which he was to represent for the next thirty years.^[11] He was not on good terms with the newFirst Lord of the Admiralty,Lord Anson, although they shared similar views on how any future naval war against France should be waged. In spite of their personal disagreements, Anson had a deep respect for Hawke as an admiral, and pushed unsuccessfully for him to be given a place on theAdmiralty board.^[16] Promoted tovice admiral on 26 May 1748,^[11] he becamePort Admiral at Portsmouth serving in that post for three years.^[1] He was installed as a Knight Companion of theOrder of the Bath (KB) on 26 June 1749^[17] and was recalled as Port Admiral at Portsmouth in 1755.^[1]

As it began to seem more likely that war would break out with France, Hawke was ordered to hoist his flag in thefirst-rateHMSSt George and to reactivate the Western Squadron in Spring 1755.^[11] This was followed by a command to cruise off the coast of France intercepting ships bound for French harbours. He did this very successfully, and British ships captured more than 300 merchant ships during the period.^[18] This in turn further worsened relations between Britain and France, bringing them to the brink of declaring war. France would continue to demand the return of the captured merchant ships throughout the coming war. By early 1756, afterrepeated clashes in North America, and deteriorating relations in Europe, the two sides were formally at war.^[11]

Hawke was sent to replace AdmiralJohn Byng as commander in theMediterranean, with orders to hoist his flag in the second-rateHMSRamillies, in June 1756.^[11] Byng had been unable torelieve Menorca (historically called "Minorca" by the British) following theBattle of Minorca and he was sent back to Britain where he was tried and executed. Almost as soon as Menorca had fallen in June 1756, the French fleet had withdrawn to Toulon in case they were attacked by Hawke. Once he arrived off Menorca, Hawke found that the island had surrendered and there was little he could do to reverse this. He decided not to land the troops he had brought with him fromGibraltar.^[19] Hawke then spent three months cruising offMenorca andMarseille before returning home where he gave evidence against Byng. Hawke was subsequently criticised by some supporters of Byng, for not having blockaded either Menorca or Toulon.^[20] He was promoted to fulladmiral on 24 February 1757.^[11]

Hawke blockadedRochefort in 1757 and later in the year he was selected to command a naval escort that would land a large force on the coast of France. The expedition arrived off the coast of Rochefort in September. After storming the offshore island ofÎle-d'Aix, the army commanderSir John Mordaunt hesitated before proceeding with the landing on the mainland. Despite a report by ColonelJames Wolfe that they would be able to capture Rochefort, Mordaunt was reluctant to attack.^[21] Hawke then offered an ultimatum – either the Generals attacked immediately or he would sail for home. His fleet was needed to protect an inbound convoy from the West Indies, and could not afford to sit indefinitely off Rochefort. Mourdaunt hastily agreed, and the expedition returned to Britain without having made any serious attempt on the town.^[22] The failure of the expedition led to aninquiry which recommended thecourt-martial of Mordaunt, which commenced on 14 December 1757 and at which he was acquitted.^[23]

In 1758 Hawke directed the blockade ofBrest for six months. In 1758 he was involved in a major altercation with his superiors at the Admiralty which saw him strike his flag and return to port over a misunderstanding at which he took offence. Although he later apologised, he was severely reprimanded.^[24] In Hawke's absence the Channel Fleet was placed under the direct command of Lord Anson.^[25]

In May 1759 Hawke was restored to the command of theWestern Squadron.^[25] Meanwhile, theDuc de Choiseul wasplanning an invasion of Britain. A French army was assembled inBrittany, with plans to combine the separate French fleets so they could seize control of theEnglish Channel and allow the invasion force to cross and capture London. When Hawke's force was driven off station by a storm, the French fleet underHubert de Brienne, Comte de Conflans, took advantage of the opportunity and left port.^[26]

During a gale on 20 November 1759 Hawke took the risky decision to follow French warships into an area of shoals and rocky islands. The British, unlike the French, had no maps or knowledge of the area, and the French admiral fully expected the British ships to wreck themselves in the dangerous waters. Hawke ordered the master of his ship to follow the French admiral into these waters. The master of theRoyal George, Hawke's flagship, is said to have remonstrated as to the danger of doing so, further compounded by alee shore. To this Hawke gave his famous reply, "You have done your duty Sir, now lay me alongside the Soleil Royal".^[26] He won a sufficient victory in theBattle of Quiberon Bay, that when combined with AdmiralEdward Boscawen's victory at theBattle of Lagos, the French invasion threat was eliminated.^[27] Although he had effectively put the French channel fleet out of action for the remainder of the war, Hawke was disappointed he had not secured a more comprehensive victory, asserting that had he had two more hours of daylight the whole enemy fleet would have been captured.^[28]

Although Hawke's victory at Quiberon Bay ended any immediate hope of a major invasion ofGreat Britain, the French continued to entertain hopes of a future invasion for the remainder of the war, which drove the British to keep a tight blockade on the French coast. This continued to starve French ports of commerce, further weakening France's economy. After a spell in England, Hawke returned to take command of the blockading fleet off Brest. The British were now effectively mounting a blockade of the French coast fromDunkirk toMarseille.^[29] Hawke attempted to destroy some of the remaining French warships, which he had trapped in theVilaine Estuary. He sent infire ships, but these failed to accomplish the task. Hawke developed a plan for landing on the coast, seizing a peninsula, and attacking the ships from land. However, he was forced to abandon this when orders reached him from Pitt for a much larger expedition.^[30]

In an effort to further undermine the French, Pitt had conceived the idea of seizing the island ofBelle Île, off the coast ofBrittany and asked the navy to prepare for an expedition to take it. Hawke made his opposition clear in a letter to Anson, which was subsequently widely circulated. Pitt was extremely annoyed by this, considering that Hawke had overstepped his authority.^[31] Nonetheless, Pitt pressed ahead with the expedition against Belle Île. An initial assault in April 1761 was repulsed with heavy loss but, reinforced, the British successfully captured the island in June.^[32] Although the capture of the island provided another victory for Pitt and lowered the morale of the French public by showing that the British could now occupy parts ofMetropolitan France, Hawke's criticisms of its strategic usefulness were borne out. It was not a useful staging point for further raids on the coast and the French were not especially concerned about its loss, telling Britain during subsequent peace negotiations that they would offer nothing in exchange for it and Britain could keep it if they wished.^[33]

Hawke then retired from active duty, becomingRear-Admiral of Great Britain on 4 January 1763^[36] andVice-Admiral of Great Britain on 5 November 1765.^[37] He was madeFirst Lord of the Admiralty in theChatham Ministry in December 1766^[38] and promoted toAdmiral of the Fleet on 15 January 1768.^[25] His appointment drew on his expertise on naval matters, as he did little to enhance the government politically.^[39] During his time as First Lord, Hawke was successful in bringing the navy's spending under control.^[40] He also oversaw the mobilisation of the navy during theFalklands Crisis in 1770 and was then succeeded as First Lord byLord Sandwich in January 1771.^[41]

Hawke was influential in the decision to give CaptainJames Cook command of his first expedition that left in 1768. When at a meeting in theRoyal Geographical Society it was suggested that a civilian should lead the expedition, Hawke is supposed to have remarked that he would sooner have his right hand cut off than allow this to happen.^[42] Cook named a series of prominent places that he came across in the 'New World' after Hawke as a sign of his gratitude.^[43]

Hawke was createdBaron Hawke "ofTowton" (in which Yorkshire parish was situated his residence of Scarthingwell Hall, inherited by his wife^[44]) on 20 May 1776.^[45] Towards the end of his life he had his country house built inSunbury-on-Thames^[46] and lived alternately there and at a rented home inNorth Stoneham,Hampshire.^[47] He died at his house in Sunbury-on-Thames on 17 October 1781 and was buried atSt Nicolas Church, North Stoneham.^[48]

His memorial, carved byJohn Francis Moore^[49] and depicting the Battle of Quiberon Bay, is in St. Nicolas' Church, North Stoneham.^[50]

In theRobert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novelTreasure Island,Long John Silver claims that he used to serve in the Royal Navy and lost his leg under "the immortal Hawke".^[51]

Places named after Hawke include:

Australia

• Cape Hawke inNew South Wales.^[52]

New Zealand

• Hawke Bay and subsequentlyHawke's Bay Region in theNorth Island.^[53]

Canada

• Hawke's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.^[54]
• Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia.^[55]

Royal Navy ships named in Hawke's honour

• The 74-gunBlack Prince-class ship of the lineHMS Hawke launched in 1820.^[56]
• Edgar-class cruiserHMS Hawke built in 1891.^[57]

In 1737 he married Catherine Brooke, the only daughter and sole heiress^[58] of Walter Brooke (1695-1722)^[59] of Burton Hall,Gateforth^[60] near Hull^[2] and ofGateforth Hall^[61] in Yorkshire, by his wife Catherine Hammond (d.1721) daughter and heiress of William Hammond of Scarthingwell Hall,^[2] in the parish ofSaxton, Yorkshire.^[61][62] Hawke made his home at Scarthingwell Hall and took for his barony the territorial designation "of Towton" from the parish in which it was situated. By his wife he had three sons and one daughter, who survived, and three children who died in infancy.^[1]

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