Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, of Shenstone

Admiral of the Fleet
**Sir William Parker**
Bt GCB
Admiral of the Fleet; Sir William Parker; Bt GCB
	Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker Bt
Born	1 December 1781; Almington, Staffordshire, England
Died	13 November 1866
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1793–1857
Rank	Admiral of the Fleet
Commands held	Second Naval Lord; East Indies and China Station; Mediterranean Fleet; First Naval Lord; Plymouth
Battles/wars	Napoleonic Wars; First Opium War
Awards	GCB

Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, GCB (1 December 1781 – 13 November 1866), was a Royal Navy officer. He was born in Almington, Staffordshire, England. He was not related to the previous Admiral Sir William Parker. His father, George Parker, was the second son of Sir Thomas Parker, who had been Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Sir Thomas Parker's nephew and son-in-law (by marriage to his daughter Martha) was John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent.

Naval career

William Parker entered the Royal Navy in February 1793 as a captain's servant on the HMS Orion, serving under Captain John Thomas Duckworth.^[1] The Orion was part of the Channel fleet under Lord Howe and took part in the Battle of The Glorious First of June. When Captain Duckworth was assigned to another ship, Leviathan, Parker followed him, and sailed with him to the West Indies where Duckworth appointed him acting lieutenant of the frigate Magicienne.^[1] In May 1798 he was appointed to the Queen, flagship of Sir Hyde Parker, and on 1 May 1799 became acting captain of the Volage.^[1] During the next few months he cruised in the Gulf of Mexico and the coast of Cuba.^[1]

In 1800 he returned to England and then spent nearly a year with the blockade fleet off Brest.^[1] He became post captain in October 1801.^[1] In November he assumed command of HMS Amazon, which he commanded for nearly 11 years.^[1] He was attached to the fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson and accompanied the fleet to the West Indies. The Amazon was then sent on a cruise westward and therefore missed the Battle of Trafalgar. She was later attached to a squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren, participating in the capture of the French ships Marengo and Belle Poule at the Action of 13 March 1806.^[1] Parker was almost constantly on the move with the Amazon, mainly along the coast of Spain and Portugal, until January 1812 when the ship was paid off.^[1]

Parker purchased Shenstone Lodge near Lichfield, where he lived for the next 15 years.^[1] In 1827, however, he returned to sea as captain of HMS Warspite, and acted in 1828 as senior officer off the coast of Greece.^[1] In December that year he was appointed to command the royal yacht.^[1] On 22 July 1830 he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral and in April 1831 was appointed second in command of the Channel Squadron, under Sir Edward Codrington.^[1] In September 1831 he was detached on an independent command on the Tagus, aboard Asia where he went to protect British interests during the Portuguese Civil War.^[1] When he returned to England he was appointed one of the Lords of the Admiralty.^[1] He left the Admiralty in 1841, and was appointed commander-in-chief of the East Indies and China Station.^[1] Parker sailed for Hong Kong and assumed command of the squadron on 10 August 1841.^[1] The British proceeded to capture Amoy, Ningpo, Woosung and Shanghai, ending with the seizure of Chinkiang and closing the entrance to the Grand Canal on 21 July 1842.^[1]

Later life

Parker was appointed GCB in 1843,^[1] a good-service pension in 1844^[1] and a baronetcy in 1841.^[1] In November 1841 he had been appointed Vice-Admiral and in 1845 was Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.^[1] In May 1846, because of his knowledge of Portugal and its politics, he was given the additional command of the Channel Squadron^[2] while still remaining in charge of the Mediterranean.^[1] He was briefly (for a week) First Naval Lord in July 1846^[3] but gave up the role due to ill health.^[1]

In 1852 he attained the rank of Admiral and returned to England.^[1] He served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth from 1854 to 1857.^[1] He continued to be active, serving as a consultant on a variety of projects. In 1863 he became an Admiral of the Fleet. He died on 13 November 1866 from complications from bronchitis. He was buried in his parish churchyard near his home at Shenstone Lodge, and a monument to his memory was erected in Lichfield Cathedral.^[1]

Family

In 1810 he married Frances Anne Biddulph; they had two sons and six daughters.^[1]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab Laughton, J. K. (2004). "Parker, Sir William, first baronet (1781–1866)". In rev. Andrew Lambert (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
^ Heathcote, p. 208
^ "Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660-1870', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870 (1975), pp. 18-31". {{cite web}}: Text "Date accessed: 30 August 2010." ignored (help)

References

The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 - 1995, Heathcote T. A., Pen & Sword Ltd, 2002, ISBN 0 85052 835 6

Military offices
Preceded by George Dundas	Second Naval Lord 1834	Succeeded by Sir John Beresford, Bt
Preceded by Sir John Beresford, Bt	Second Naval Lord 1835–1841	Succeeded by Sir Edward Troubridge, Bt
Preceded by Sir James Bremer	Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station 1841–1844	Succeeded by Sir Thomas Cochrane
Preceded by Sir Edward Owen	Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet 1845–13 July 1846	Succeeded by Vacant for One Week (Next held by himself)
Preceded by Sir George Cockburn	First Naval Lord 13 July 1846–24 July 1846	Succeeded by Sir Charles Adam
Preceded by Vacant for One Week (Previously held by himself)	Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet 24 July 1846–1852	Succeeded by Sir James Dundas
Preceded by Sir John Ommanney	Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth 1854–1857	Succeeded by Sir Barrington Reynolds
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Amelius Beauclerk	First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp 1846–1866	Succeeded by The Earl of Lauderdale
Preceded by Sir Francis Austen	Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom 1862–1863	Succeeded by Sir George Francis Seymour
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New title	Baronet (of Shenstone) 1844–1866	Succeeded by William Biddulph Parker

Template:Persondata

[odnb-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab Laughton, J. K. (2004). "Parker, Sir William, first baronet (1781–1866)". In rev. Andrew Lambert (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2007-04-13.

[2] Heathcote, p. 208

[3] "Lord High Admiral and Commissioners of the Admiralty 1660-1870', Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 4: Admiralty Officials 1660-1870 (1975), pp. 18-31". {{cite web}}: Text "Date accessed: 30 August 2010." ignored (help)

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[3]

v t e First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy
Senior Naval Lords (1689–1771)	Arthur Herbert Sir John Chicheley Edward Russell Henry Priestman Earl of Orford Sir George Rooke Sir John Leake Sir George Byng Sir John Leake Sir George Byng Matthew Aylmer Sir George Byng Sir John Jennings Sir John Norris Sir Charles Wager Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Harry Powlett Lord Archibald Hamilton Lord Vere Beauclerk Lord Anson Sir William Rowley Edward Boscawen Sir William Rowley Edward Boscawen John Forbes Earl Howe Sir Charles Saunders Augustus Keppel Sir Peircy Brett Sir Francis Holburne
First Naval Lords (1771–1904)	Augustus Hervey Sir Hugh Palliser Robert Man George Darby Sir Robert Harland Sir Hugh Pigot John Leveson-Gower Lord Hood Sir Charles Middleton James Gambier Sir Thomas Troubridge James Gambier John Markham James Gambier Sir Richard Bickerton William Domett Sir Joseph Yorke Sir Graham Moore Sir William Johnstone Hope Sir George Cockburn Sir Thomas Hardy The Hon. George Dundas Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir William Parker Sir Charles Adam Sir James Dundas The Hon. Maurice Berkeley Hyde Parker The Hon. Maurice Berkeley The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas William Martin The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey Sir Alexander Milne Sir Sydney Dacres Sir Alexander Milne Sir Hastings Yelverton Sir George Wellesley Sir Astley Key Sir Arthur Hood Lord John Hay Sir Arthur Hood Sir Richard Hamilton Sir Anthony Hoskins Sir Frederick Richards Lord Walter Kerr
First Sea Lords (1904–present)	Sir John Fisher Sir Arthur Wilson Sir Francis Bridgeman Prince Louis of Battenberg The Lord Fisher Sir Henry Jackson Sir John Jellicoe Sir Rosslyn Wemyss The Earl Beatty Sir Charles Madden, Bt Sir Frederick Field The Lord Chatfield Sir Roger Backhouse Sir Dudley Pound The Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope Sir John Cunningham The Lord Fraser of North Cape Sir Rhoderick McGrigor The Earl Mountbatten of Burma Sir Charles Lambe Sir Caspar John Sir David Luce Sir Varyl Begg Sir Michael Le Fanu Sir Peter Hill-Norton Sir Michael Pollock Sir Edward Ashmore Sir Terence Lewin Sir Henry Leach Sir John Fieldhouse Sir William Staveley Sir Julian Oswald Sir Benjamin Bathurst Sir Jock Slater Sir Michael Boyce Sir Nigel Essenhigh Sir Alan West Sir Jonathon Band Sir Mark Stanhope Sir George Zambellas Sir Philip Jones Sir Antony Radakin Sir Ben Key