Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Paul Henry Ourry (1719–1783) was a Royal Navy officer and British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1763 to 1775.

Early life

Ourry was the second son of Louis Ourry, a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

and his wife Anne Louise Beauvais, daughter of Louis Beauvais and was born on 3 October 1719.

Naval career

Ourry joined 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 F ...

and was Lieutenant in 1742 serving on HMS ''Elizabeth'' from 1742 to 1744 and saw action at the Battle of Toulon. From 1746 to 1748 he served on HMS ''Salisbury''.Threedecks Website Paul Henry Ourry (1719-1783)
/ref> He married Charity Treby, daughter of George Treby MP former secretary at war on 26 August 1749. From 1751 to 1752 he served on HMS ''Monmouth'' and from 1752 to 1756 on HMS ''Deptford'' He was promoted to

Master and Commander ''Master and Commander'' is a 1969 nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in t ...

in 1756 and awarded command of the

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

, then at anchor at

Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. War with France broke out in May 1756, while Ourry was ''en route'' to Port Mahon to assume command of his vessel. The French seized ''Proserpine'' before Ourry arrived, and he was forced to return to England and petition the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

for an alternative command. After some delays Ourry was appointed to command the newly built

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

frigate HMS Success from early 1757. However, family matters had since arisen that required him to seek a leave of absence for travel to

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...

. The Navy was reluctant to grant the request, and Ourry only obtained leave after the intervention of John Clevland, the

Secretary to the Admiralty S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. History ...

and a friend of Ourry's family. A subsequent request for additional leave was flatly refused with advice from

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

that "his service is wanted and is so pressing that the Lords will not permit any other action that can occasion a moments delay." In June 1758 Ourry took part in the landing at

Cancale Bay Cancale (; ; Gallo: ''Cauncall'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan. Population Inhabitants of Cancale are called ''Cancalais'' in French. To ...

. He commanded HMS ''Actaeon'' from 1759 to 1763 and took part in the Expedition against

Belle Île Belle-Île, Belle-Île-en-Mer, or Belle Isle ( br, Ar Gerveur, ; br, label=Old Breton, Guedel) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon pe ...

in June 1761 and in operations in Martinique in February 1762. In 1763 he became a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

but continued in service for several years. From 1763 to 1767 he commanded HMS ''Hero''. His last three commands were HMS ''Firm'' between 1770 and 1771 HMS ''Dublin'' from 1771 to 1773 and also HMS ''Fame'' between 1770 and 1772.

Political career

The Treby family had an interest at

Plympton Erle Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Pl ...

where his brother in law George Hele Treby was MP until his death in 1763. Ourry was returned in succession to him as MP for Plympton Erle at a by-election on 25 November 1763. He was returned for Plymton Erle unopposed in

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...

and 1774. In Parliament he supported every Administration but does not appear to have spoken in the House. He was appointed Commissioner for

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roy ...

in January 1775 and vacated his seat.

Later life

Ourry died on 31 January 1783. His son

Paul Treby Ourry Paul Treby Ourry (1758–1832) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1784. Ourry was the eldest son of Paul Henry Ourry and his wife Charity Treby, daughter of George Treby and was born on 6 November 1758. He was probab ...

was also MP for Plympton Erle. His daughter Charity was married to Montagu Edmund Parker and his daughter Catherine to

Sir William Molesworth, 6th Baronet Sir William Molesworth, 6th Baronet (30 June 1758 – 22 February 1798) was one of the Molesworth baronets of Pencarrow, Cornwall and a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1784 and 1790. Early life Molesworth was the son of ...

.John Burke A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland: M to Z 1846
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* * *T Egerton Naval Chronology: Or, An Historical Summary of Naval & Maritime Events, from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace, 1802, Volume 4 . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ourry, Paul Henry 1719 births 1783 deaths British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Royal Navy officers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plympton Erle