George Townshend | |
---|---|
Born | 29 October 1716 |
Died | August 1769 (aged 52) |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() |
Years of service | 1729–1769 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands held |
HMS Tartar HMS Chatham HMS Bedford Jamaica Station |
Battles/wars | |
Relations |
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (father) Dorothy Townshend (mother) |
Admiral The Hon. George Townshend (29 October 1716 – August 1769) was a British naval commander.
Townshend was the eldest son of Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, and his second wife Dorothy, sister of Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole. [1]
Townshend served in the Royal Navy and, having been promoted to post captain on 30 January 1739, he was given command of the third-rate HMS Bedford in 1743 and saw action at the Battle of Toulon in February 1744 [2] before commanding British fleet at the Siege of Genoa in 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession. [3] He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station from 1749 to 1752, and having been promoted to rear admiral on 6 January 1755, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station again from 1755 to 1757. [4]
Promoted to vice admiral in February 1757 and to full admiral in 1765, he died in August 1769. [2]