Vice Admiral George Darby (c.1720 – 1790) was a

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 Fr ...

officer. He commanded HMS ''Norwich'' at the capture of Martinique in 1762 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 (1754 ...

. He went on to command the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and later in that war served as First Naval Lord when he commanded the force that relieved

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

from its siege by the Spanish in April 1781.

Naval career

Early career

Darby was the second son of Jonathan Darby (III) (d.1742/3) and Anna Marie Frend both of

Leap Castle Leap Castle (; ga, Caisleán Léim Uí Bhánáin) is a castle in Coolderry, County Offaly, Ireland, about north of the town of Roscrea and south of Kinnitty on the R421. History There are varied accounts as to when exactly the main towe ...

, in

King's County, Ireland County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, i ...

. He joined the

as a volunteer in September 1742. Promoted to

post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...

on 12 September 1747, he received his first command, the

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 a ...

HMS ''Aldborough''. He went on to become commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS ''Seahorse'' in 1756 and of the

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

HMS ''Norwich'' in 1757 in which he served under

Admiral Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the ...

at the capture of Martinique in 1762 during the

. After that he became commanding officer of the

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the thi ...

HMS ''Devonshire'' in 1760.

American War of Independence

In the

of 1775 to 1783, Admiral Keppel's resignation during the crisis following the Battle of Ushant in 1778 left a vacancy for command of the

. On 23 January 1778 Darby became a

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

and on 19 March 1779 he was promoted to vice-admiral, thanks to his association with

Lord Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu. ...

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

, during the court martial of Admiral Palliser. Thus he unexpectedly came to command the Channel Fleet in 1780 at a time of grave danger for the kingdom. Darby was appointed to the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

as First Naval Lord in the

North ministry Frederick North, Lord North was appointed to lead the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain by King George III from 1770 to 1782. His ministry oversaw the Falklands Crisis of 1770, the 1780 Gordon Riots and the outbreak of the American Wa ...

in September 1780. In April 1781 he relieved

from its siege by the Spanish, for the second time during that war. This event is recorded in a full-length portrait by George Romney, painted 1783–6, which hangs in the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

. On the change of ministry in April 1782 he resigned his command and did not again serve at sea; he also resigned his seat on the Admiralty Board. He was

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 o ...

for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

, from 1780 to 1784. He lived at Newtown House at Newtown in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

and died in 1790.

Personal life

When in England he lived at Newtown House,

Newtown, Hampshire Newtown is a village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire, about south of Newbury, Berkshire. History In the early 13th century, the Bishops of Winchester created six new towns: Newtown, Overton and New Alresford in Hampshire; ...

and had five children. Darby was married to Mary, daughter of Sir William St Quintin, 4th Baronet and then to Ann Bridges, a widow whose brother was colonial agent and MP, Richard Jackson. Darby's male issue achieved high military rank and held significant wealth: *William Thomas St Quentin (1769-1805) lived at Darby House,

Sunbury on Thames Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...

and later at

Scampston Hall Scampston Hall is a Grade II* listed country house in North Yorkshire, England, with a serpentine park designed by Charles Bridgeman and Capability Brown. It is located on the north side of the A64 Leeds/Scarborough road, 4 miles (6 km) ea ...

, Malton, Yorkshire **Colonel Matthew Chitty Downes St. Quintin (his son) *Major-General Matthew Chitty Darby-Griffith (1772–1823) lived at Padworth House, Berkshire

References

Sources

* *

External links

* History of Parliament
George Darby
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, George Royal Navy vice admirals 1720 births 1790 deaths Royal Navy personnel of the American Revolutionary War Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plymouth British MPs 1780–1784 People from Newtown, Hampshire People associated with Sandleford, Berkshire People from County Offaly Lords of the Admiralty