Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Paul Henry Ourry (3 October 1719 – 31 January 1783) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and politician who represented Plympton Erle in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

from 1763 to 1775.

Early life

Ourry was the second son of Louis Ourry, a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

and his wife Anne Louise Beauvais, daughter of Louis Beauvais and was born on 3 October 1719.

Naval career

Ourry joined the

and was Lieutenant in 1742 serving on HMS ''Elizabeth'' from 1742 to 1744 and saw action at the Battle of Toulon. From 1746 to 1748 he served on HMS ''Salisbury''.Threedecks Website Paul Henry Ourry (1719-1783)
/ref> He married Charity Treby, daughter of George Treby MP former secretary at war on 26 August 1749. From 1751 to 1752 he served on HMS ''Monmouth'' and from 1752 to 1756 on HMS ''Deptford'' He was promoted to Master and Commander in 1756 and awarded command of the

fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...

, then at anchor at

Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manches ...

. War with France broke out in May 1756, while Ourry was ''en route'' to Port Mahon to assume command of his vessel. The French seized ''Proserpine'' before Ourry arrived, and he was forced to return to England and petition the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the Regulatory agency, commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headqua ...

for an alternative command. After some delays Ourry was appointed to command the newly built

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 an ...

frigate

HMS Success Sixteen ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Success'', whilst another was planned: * was a 34-gun ship, previously the French ship ''Jules''. She was captured in 1650, renamed HMS ''Old Success'' in 1660 and sold in 1662. * was a 24-g ...

from early 1757. However, family matters had since arisen that required him to seek a leave of absence for travel to

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

. The Navy was reluctant to grant the request, and Ourry only obtained leave after the intervention of John Clevland, the

Secretary to the Admiralty S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...

and a friend of Ourry's family. A subsequent request for additional leave was flatly refused with advice from

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

that "his service is wanted and is so pressing that the Lords will not permit any other action that can occasion a moments delay." In June 1758 Ourry took part in the landing at Cancale Bay. He commanded HMS ''Actaeon'' from 1759 to 1763 and took part in the Expedition against

Belle Île Belle-Île (), Belle-Île-en-Mer (), or Belle Isle (, ; ) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département in France, département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peninsula. Admini ...

in June 1761 and in operations in Martinique in February 1762. In 1763 he became a Member of Parliament but continued in service for several years. From 1763 to 1767 he commanded HMS ''Hero''. His last three commands were HMS ''Firm'' between 1770 and 1771 HMS ''Dublin'' from 1771 to 1773 and also HMS ''Fame'' between 1770 and 1772.

Political career

The Treby family had an interest at Plympton Erle where his brother in law George Hele Treby was MP until his death in 1763. Ourry was returned in succession to him as MP for Plympton Erle at a by-election on 25 November 1763. He was returned for Plymton Erle unopposed in

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Re ...

and

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and feathers British customs ...

. In Parliament he supported every Administration but does not appear to have spoken in the House. He was appointed Commissioner for

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roya ...

in January 1775 and vacated his seat.

Later life

Ourry died on 31 January 1783. His son Paul Treby Ourry was also MP for Plympton Erle. His daughter Charity was married to Montagu Edmund Parker and his daughter Caroline to

Sir William Molesworth, 6th Baronet Sir William Molesworth, 6th Baronet (30 June 1758 – 22 February 1798) was one of the Molesworth-St Aubyn baronets, Molesworth baronets of Pencarrow (mansion), Pencarrow, Cornwall and a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 17 ...

.John Burke A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland: M to Z 1846
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* * *T Egerton Naval Chronology: Or, An Historical Summary of Naval & Maritime Events, from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace, 1802, Volume 4 . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ourry, Paul Henry 1719 births 1783 deaths Royal Navy captains British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plympton Erle