George Charles D ' Aguilar Major - General Sir George Charles D ' Aguilar , KCB ( Chinese : 德忌笠 or 德己立 ) ( 1784 – 1855 ) was a British Army Major General and Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong . Background . He was born the son of Solomon d ' Aguilar ( 1752 – 1817 ) of Liverpool and Margaret Gillmer ( 1753 – 1829 ) . The d ' Aguilars were a military family directly descended from the ' Great Captain ' , Gonzalo Hernandez y Aguilar , Duke of Cordova and Terra Nova , who distinguished himself at the conquest of Grenada in the time of Ferdinand and Isabella . His first cousin and contemporary , Lieutenant - Colonel George Thomas d ' Aguilar ( 1783 – 1839 ) married Catherine Burton , aunt of the noted explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton . Military service . He entered the army in 1799 as an ensign with the 86th ( Royal County Down ) Regiment of Foot who were then serving in the East Indies . He remained there until 1808 , and during that time served for two years on the general staff of the army , as Brigade Major , and three years as Adjutant of the 86th Foot ( consisting of nearly the whole of Richard Wellesley , 1st Marquess Wellesley ' s administration ) . He was with the regiment at the reduction of various forts in the Malwa and Guzerat districts and at Gerard Lake , 1st Viscount Lake ' s unsuccessful assaults on Bharatpur , India . Having been promoted to a company in the 81st , he returned to England in May , 1809 , and the following month embarked for Walcheren . After the fall of Flushing , Netherlands he was appointed aide - de - camp to Lieutenant - General Mahon , afterwards Lord Hartland , until he returned to England with the cavalry under Mahon . In 1809 he married Eliza , second daughter of Peter Drinkwater of Irwell House , Lancashire . He was subsequently on the staff as assistant adjutant - general in Sicily , where he was sent by Lord William Bentinck on a military mission to the court of Ali Pasha at Yanina and Constantinople . He also served as military secretary to the army on the Eastern coast of Spain under Sir John Murray , 8th Baronet and Sir William Henry Clinton . In 1813 he was appointed a major in the Greek Light Infantry and took command of the regiment prior to the final reduction of the Greek Islands . In 1815 he joined Arthur Wellesley , 1st Duke of Wellington ' s army and was present at the capture of Paris . In 1817 he was appointed a Major with the Rifle Brigade and placed on half - pay . Altogether d ' Aguilar served for twenty six years on the general staff , during eight of which he was assistant adjutant - general at the Horse Guards , principally under Prince Frederick , Duke of York and Albany , and for twelve years assistant adjutant - general of the army in Ireland . In 1841 he promoted to Major - General . Lieutenant - Governor of Hong Kong . In 1843 d ' Aguilar was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong and Commander of the British troops in China . In 1847 he commanded the expedition which assauted and took the forts of the Bocca Tigris . The following year , 1848 , he returned to England . In 1851 he was appointed to command the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers . The Headquarter House ( renamed to Flagstaff House , which is located in Hong Kong Park ) was built for him in 1846 . He died in London in May , 1855 . Memory . Cape D ' Aguilar and D ' Aguilar Street in Hong Kong were named after him . The town of D ' Aguilar in Queensland was also named after him .