Collection GB 0064 HWK - Hawke, Edward, Admiral Of The Fleet, 1st Baron Hawke (1705-1781)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0064 HWK

Title

Hawke, Edward, Admiral Of The Fleet, 1st Baron Hawke (1705-1781)

Date(s)

  • 1743-1762 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

3ft; 91cm

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Hawke entered the Navy in 1720 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1729. He served in the Mediterranean, West Indies and off the West African coast between periods on half pay and became a captain in 1734. At the outbreak of war in 1739 he blockaded Barbados for four years until his appointment to the Berwick, in which he took a noteworthy part in the battle of Toulon and remained in the Mediterranean for the next eighteen months. After a brief period at home he was appointed, in 1747, vice-admiral and second-in-command of the Channel Fleet under Sir Peter Warren (1703-1752), and he succeeded to the command when Warren fell ill. His decisive victory off Finisterre in 1747 won him a knighthood and, in December of that year, he was elected a Member of Parliament for Portsmouth, a seat he held for thirty years. When peace came he commanded the Channel Fleet until 1752. In 1755 he again hoisted his flag, in the ST GEORGE, and was appointed to the Western Squadron. He was sent to the Mediterranean in June 1756 but was too late to prevent Minorca falling to the French. Having been promoted to admiral in 1757 and appointed to command the Channel Fleet, he took part in the Rochefort expedition. He held this command again in 1759 in the ROYAL GEORGE, enforced the blockade of Brest and won a decisive victory at Quiberon Bay. From 1766 to 1771 Hawke was First Lord of the Admiralty and was raised to the peerage in 1776. See Montagu Burrows, The Life of Edward, Lord Hawke (London, 1883) and Ruddock F. Mackay, Admiral Hawke (Oxford, 1965).

Archival history

GB 0064 HWK 1743-1762 Collection 3ft; 91cm Hawke , Edward , 1705-1781 , 1st Baron Hawke , Admiral of the Fleet

Hawke entered the Navy in 1720 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1729. He served in the Mediterranean, West Indies and off the West African coast between periods on half pay and became a captain in 1734. At the outbreak of war in 1739 he blockaded Barbados for four years until his appointment to the Berwick, in which he took a noteworthy part in the battle of Toulon and remained in the Mediterranean for the next eighteen months. After a brief period at home he was appointed, in 1747, vice-admiral and second-in-command of the Channel Fleet under Sir Peter Warren (1703-1752), and he succeeded to the command when Warren fell ill. His decisive victory off Finisterre in 1747 won him a knighthood and, in December of that year, he was elected a Member of Parliament for Portsmouth, a seat he held for thirty years. When peace came he commanded the Channel Fleet until 1752. In 1755 he again hoisted his flag, in the ST GEORGE, and was appointed to the Western Squadron. He was sent to the Mediterranean in June 1756 but was too late to prevent Minorca falling to the French. Having been promoted to admiral in 1757 and appointed to command the Channel Fleet, he took part in the Rochefort expedition. He held this command again in 1759 in the ROYAL GEORGE, enforced the blockade of Brest and won a decisive victory at Quiberon Bay. From 1766 to 1771 Hawke was First Lord of the Admiralty and was raised to the peerage in 1776. See Montagu Burrows, The Life of Edward, Lord Hawke (London, 1883) and Ruddock F. Mackay, Admiral Hawke (Oxford, 1965).

The papers were purchased by Treasury grant in 1970 from Lord Oxmantown.

Papers of Adml Edward Hawke. They contain a virtually unbroken series of letter and order books relating to Hawke's career afloat from June 1743 onwards. The only gap appears in the in-letters between November 1759 and April 1762; otherwise chronological omissions correspond with Hawke's periods ashore. There is nothing relating to his service as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Please contact the Archive for further information.

English

Detailed catalogue online at the: National Maritime Museum website .

Edited by Sarah Drewery, Jul 2011.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

2010-08-26 Naval affairs Naval operations Hawke , Edward , 1705-1781 , 1st Baron Hawke , Admiral of the Fleet Royal Navy Military affairs Military operations Military science Military engineering Social sciences

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

The papers were purchased by Treasury grant in 1970 from Lord Oxmantown.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers of Adml Edward Hawke. They contain a virtually unbroken series of letter and order books relating to Hawke's career afloat from June 1743 onwards. The only gap appears in the in-letters between November 1759 and April 1762; otherwise chronological omissions correspond with Hawke's periods ashore. There is nothing relating to his service as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Conditions governing reproduction

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Detailed catalogue online at the: National Maritime Museum website .

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

National Maritime Museum

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area