William Bowles (Royal Navy officer)
Sir William Bowles | |
|---|---|
Sir William Bowles | |
| Born | 25 May 1780 Salisbury, Wiltshire |
| Died | July 2, 1869 (aged 89) Hill Street, London |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1796–1860 |
| Rank | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Commands | HMS Zebra HMS Warspite HMS Medusa HMS Aquilon HMS Nemesis South America Station HMY William & Mary Portsmouth Command |
| Battles / wars | French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Bowles, KCB (25 May 1780 – 2 July 1869) was a senior Royal Navy officer and Conservative Party politician. After serving as a junior officer in the French Revolutionary Wars, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Zebra and took part in the bombardment of Copenhagen in September 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars. As commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS Medusa, he took part in operations off the north coast of Spain and led a naval brigade in a raid on Santoña.
Bowles went on to be Commander-in-Chief, South America Station before becoming Third Naval Lord in the Second Peel ministry as well as Member of Parliament (MP) for Launceston in Cornwall. He published a number of papers arguing for innovations in naval warfare and naval administration before becoming Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.