Rear Admiral John Storr (18 August 1709 – 10 January 1783) was an officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. He served during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

, reaching the rank of Rear admiral of the Red.

Early life

Storr was born on 18 August 1709 at Humbleton,

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, the son of Joseph Storr.

Career

Storr was appointed commander on 3 July 1746, and captain on 1 November 1748. He was given command of HMS ''Gloucester'' on 1 November 1748, a position he held until 1753. He was later posted on HMS ''St George'', a 90-gun

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer gun ...

ship, in January 1755, a post which he retained until the following year. In 1757 he took command of HMS ''Revenge'' and kept it until 1760. On board, he took part in the Battle of Cartagena on 28 February 1758 off the Spanish port of Cartagena in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. A British fleet under the command of Admiral Osborn, who blocked the French fleet inside the

port of Cartagena The port of Cartagena ( es, Puerto de Cartagena) is the port located in Cartagena, Spain. It is the fourth nationwide port in freight traffic behind Algeciras, Valencia and Barcelona. It occupies the eighth place in relation to the number of crui ...

, attacked and defeated a French fleet under the orders of

Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville Michel-Ange Du Quesne de Menneville, Marquis Du Quesne (c. 1700 17 September 1778) was a French Governor General of New France. He was born in Toulon, France. Du Quesne served from 1752 through 1755, and is best known for his role in the French ...

, who had come to their aid. The interception of the French fleet was intended to limit the reinforcements sent to the aid of Louisbourg in North America, which was then besieged by the British. He participated in the

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' in French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast ...

, 20 November 1759, still on HMS ''Revenge''. He was then part of the Red Squadron, the central body of the fleet, under the command of

Edward Hawke Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB, PC (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781), of Scarthingwell Hall in the parish of Towton, near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate , he took part in the Battle of ...

, admiral of the Blue. From 1760 to 1762 he commanded HMS ''Monmouth''. Storr was appointed rear admiral of the White, 19 March 1779 and then rear admiral of the Red, 26 September 1780.

Personal life

Storr married on 11 May 1773 at St George's Church, Bloomsbury, London. His wife was John Norris Gordon, noted at her death as an art collector and amateur artist. Storr died on 10 January 1783 and was buried at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. A marble tablet and bust was erected in the chapel of St John the Evangelist in Westminster Abbey in his memory. An octagonal tower in Hilston,

, known as Admiral Storr's Tower, was built in 1750 as a look-out tower for Joseph Storr. This is now designated a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

, maintained by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

References

Biography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Storr, John 1709 births People from Holderness 1783 deaths Burials at Westminster Abbey Royal Navy rear admirals Military personnel from the East Riding of Yorkshire