British admiral (1706–1792)Not to be confused with George Po* (inventor) or George Yeomans Po*.

Admiral Sir George Po* or Po*e, KB (6 March 1706 – 3 April 1792) was a British officer of the Royal Navy.

Contents

• 1 Family
• 2 Early career
• 3 Command of British naval forces in Indian waters
• 4 Later career
• 5 References
• 6 Sources

Family

Po* was born in Thames Ditton in Surrey, the son of Thomas Po*, a chaplain in the Royal Navy. His great grandfather was Rev. Dr. Laurence Po*, Rector of Brightwalton in Berkshire, and his ancestors had long been resident at adjoining Chieveley in the same county.

Early career

George Po* entered the navy in 1718, serving aboard HMS:Superb under the patronage of his maternal uncle, Captain Streynsham Master (1682–1724). He became lieutenant in April 1725 and commander in 1733. In 1738 he was promoted to post-captain and granted command of the 20-gun HMS:Aldborough. After serving in the West Indies he was sent to join the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, Rear-Admiral Charles Watson, in 1754 as captain of the 58-gun HMS:*berland. Watson's squadron co-operated with Clive in the conquest of Bengal. In 1755 Po* became rear-admiral, and was promoted to vice-admiral in 1756.

Command of British naval forces in Indian waters

Further information: Great Britain in the Seven Years War

On the death of Watson in 1757 Po* took the command of the naval forces in the East Indies. In 1758 he was joined by Commodore Charles Steevens (d. 1761), but the reinforcement only raised the squadron to seven small line-of-battle ships. War being now in progress between France and England the French sent a naval force from their islands in the Indian Ocean into the Bay of Bengal to the *istance of Pondicherry. To intercept the arrival of these reinforcements for the enemy now became the object of Po*. The French force was indeed of less intrinsic strength than his own. Comte D'Aché who commanded it had to make up his line by including several Indiamen which were only armed merchant ships. Yet the number of the French was superior and Po* was required by the practice of his time to fight by the old official fighting instructions. He had to bring his ships into action in a line with the enemy, and to preserve his formation while the engagement lasted.

All Po*'s encounters with D'Aché were indecisive. The first battle, on 29 April 1758, failed to prevent the Frenchmen from reaching Pondicherry. After a second and more severe engagement on 3 August, the French admiral returned to Mauritius, and when the monsoon set in Po* went round to Bombay. He was back early in spring, relieving the Siege of Madras, but the French admiral did not return to the Bay of Bengal until September. Again Po* was unable to prevent his opponent from reaching Pondicherry, and a well-contested battle between them on 10 September 1759 proved again indecisive. The French government was nearly bankrupt, and D'Aché could get no stores for his squadron. He was compelled to return to the islands, and the British were left in possession of the Coromandel and Malabar Coasts. Po* went home in 1760, and in 1761 was made a Knight of the Bath and admiral.

Later career

In 1762 he was appointed to the command of the naval forces in the combined expedition which took Havana. The siege, which began on 7 June and lasted till 13 August, was rendered deadly by the climate. The final victory was largely attributable to the vigorous and intelligent aid which Po* gave to the troops. His share in the prize money was no less than £122,697. On his return to England Po* is said to have been disappointed because another officer, Sir Charles Saunders, was chosen in preference to himself as a member of the Admiralty Board, and to have resigned in consequence. It is certain that he resigned his commission in 1766. His monument is in Westminster Abbey.

In 1763 Po* married Sophia Dent (1733–1767), the widow of his friend Commodore Digby Dent, daughter of George Francis Drake of Madras and step-daughter of George Morton Pitt who had inherited Pitt's house at Twickenham now known as Orleans House. Their son George (1765-1840) was created a baronet and their daughter Sophia (died 1811) married John 4th Earl Powlett.

References

Sources

• :This article:incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain::Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Po*, Sir George". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol.:21 (11th:ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Laughton, John Knox (1896). "Po*, George":. In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol.:46. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Po*, Tom. "Po*, Sir George (1706–1792)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online:ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/22421. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)