page_title: George Anson, 1st Baron Anson
section_title: Senior command and the Admiralty
hierarchical_section_title: George Anson, 1st Baron Anson / Senior command and the Admiralty
caption_attribution_description: English: Colwich, Staffordshire - St Michael and All Angels Church - Admiral Lord Anson memorial
context_page_description: Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson, PC, FRS was a Royal Navy officer. Anson served as a junior officer during the War of the Spanish Succession and then saw active service against Spain at the Battle of Cape Passaro during the War of the Quadruple Alliance. He then undertook a circumnavigation of the globe during the War of Jenkins' Ear. Anson commanded the fleet that defeated the French Admiral de la Jonquière at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre during the War of the Austrian Succession.
  Anson went on to be First Lord of the Admiralty during the Seven Years' War. Among his reforms were the removal of corrupt defence contractors, improved medical care, submitting a revision of the Articles of War to Parliament to tighten discipline throughout the Navy, uniforms for commissioned officers, the transfer of the Marines from Army to Navy authority, and a system for rating ships according to their number of guns.
context_section_description: Anson was elected Member of Parliament for Hedon in Yorkshire in 1744. He joined the Board of Admiralty led by the Duke of Bedford in December 1744. Promoted to Rear-Admiral of the White on 23 April 1745 and to vice-admiral of the blue in July 1745, he took command of the Western Squadron, with his flag in the third-rate HMS Yarmouth, in July 1746.
  Anson commanded the fleet that defeated the Marquis de la Jonquière at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre in May 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession. His force captured the entire French squadron: four ships of the line, two frigates, and six merchantmen  The treasure amounted to £300,000. He was elevated to the peerage as Lord Anson, Baron of Soberton, in the County of Southampton on 11 June 1747. In 1748, the memoir of Anson's circumnavigation—Voyage Round the World in the Years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV—was published, having been edited from his notes and Richard Walter's journals by Benjamin Robins. It was a vast popular and commercial success. He was promoted to admiral of the blue on 12 May 1748 and became Vice-Admiral of Great Britain on 4 July 1749. He was advanced to Senior Naval Lord on the Admiralty Board in November 1749.
  Anson became First Lord of the Admiralty in the Broad Bottom Ministry in June 1751 and continued to serve during the first Newcastle ministry. Among his reforms were the removal of corrupt defence contractors, improved medical care, submitting a revision of the Articles of War to Parliament so tightening discipline throughout the Navy, uniforms for commissioned officers, the transfer of the Marines from Army to Navy authority and a system for rating ships according to their number of guns.
  Anson oversaw the Navy for much of the Seven Years' War, and established a permanent squadron at Devonport which could patrol the western approaches to both Britain and France. He was particularly concerned at the prospect of a French invasion of the British Isles which led him to keep a large force in the English Channel. In 1756 he was criticised for not sending enough ships with Admiral Byng to relieve Minorca because he wanted to protect Britain from a threatened invasion, only to see Byng fail to save Minorca while no invasion attempt materialised. He left the Admiralty when the Newcastle ministry fell in November 1756 and then served again as First Lord when the Pitt–Newcastle ministry was created in June 1757.
  In July 1758, after Edward Hawke had decided to strike his flag and return to port over a misunderstanding at which he took offence, Anson hoisted his own flag in the first-rate HMS Royal George and took over command of the Western Squadron again. Anson oversaw Britain's naval response to a more serious French invasion attempt in 1759. He instituted a close blockade of the French coast, which proved crippling to the French economy and ensured no invasion fleet could slip out undetected. The British victories at the Battle of Lagos in August 1759 and the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759 destroyed any realistic hope of a major invasion of the British Isles.
  As well as securing home defense, Anson co-ordinated with William Pitt a series of British attacks on French colonies around the globe. By 1760 the British had captured Canada, Senegal and Guadeloupe from the French, and followed it up by capturing Belle Île and Dominica in 1761. In 1762 the entry of Spain into the war offered further chances for British expeditions. Anson was the architect of a plan to seize Manila in the Philippines and, using the idea and plans of Admiral Sir Charles Knowles  to capture Havana. Anson had been concerned that the combined strength of the French and Spanish navies would overpower Britain, but he still threw himself into the task of directing these expeditions. The British also captured Martinique and Grenada in the French West Indies. Anson was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 30 July 1761. His last service was to convey Queen Charlotte to England.
  He died at Moor Park in Hertfordshire on 6 June 1762 and was buried at St Michael and All Angels Ch
caption: Anson's memorial at St Michael and All Angels' Church in Colwich, Staffordshire.
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