Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Talavera Vernon Anson (26 November 1809 – 8 September 1895) 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 from the

Anson family The Anson family is a British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Anson family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Anson family include the earldom of Lichfield (since 1831) and the Anson baron ...

. He took part in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

and the

First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

Early life

Born in 1809, Anson was the second son of General Sir George Anson by his marriage to Frances Hamilton. A few months before his birth, his father had commanded a brigade at the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish ...

. His uncles included

Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson (14 February 1767 – 31 July 1818) was a British politician and British Peerage, peer from the Anson family. Background and career Thomas Anson was born 14 February 1767, the first son of George Anson (1731� ...

, and General Sir William Anson. He had a sister, Mary Anne, who later married firstly Charles Gregory Okeover and secondly

Robert Plumer Ward Robert Ward, or from 1828 Robert Plumer Ward (19 March 1765 – 13 August 1846), was an English barrister, politician, and novelist. George Canning said that his law books were as pleasant as novels, and his novels as dull as law books. Life He ...

, a novelist.'Anson, Talavera Vernon Anson', in

William Richard O'Byrne William Richard O'Byrne (1823 – 7 July 1896) was an Irish biographer and politician, author of the ''A Naval Biographical Dictionary'' (1849). Life He was elder son of Robert O'Byrne and his wife Martha Trougher, daughter of Joseph Clark. He w ...

, ''A Naval Biographical Dictionary'', vol. 1 (London: John Murray, 1849)
p. 16
/ref> His younger brother Thomas Anchitel Anson (1818–1899) became a

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and a

first class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

er.

Career

Anson joined the Royal Navy on 16 June 1824, when he went aboard HMS ''Britomart'', then under the command of his second cousin Captain Octavius Venables Vernon. He stayed with Vernon in ''Primrose'', and went on to serve as a junior officer in ''Rattlesnake'' and ''Belvidera'' on the West India and Mediterranean stations. In his book ''The Navy in Transition, 1814–1864'',

Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. ...

mentions Talavera Vernon Anson as "a peculiarly well-placed young man" and comments "What a name for an ambitious young officer in the first half of the nineteenth century!" From 1827 to 1829 Anson kept the log of ''Rattlesnake'', which for most of that time was cruising off the coasts of Greece, under the command of

Charles Orlando Bridgeman Vice-Admiral Charles Orlando Bridgeman (5 February 1791 – 13 April 1860) was a Royal Navy officer who saw active service in the Napoleonic Wars and the Greek War of Independence. Life Bridgeman was a younger son of Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Ea ...

, during the

. On 3 September 1831 Anson joined HMS ''Spartiate'', in 1834 ''Blonde'', and in 1837 ''Seringapatam''. On 12 March 1833 he was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and on 30 June 1838 to

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

.''Accounts and Papers: Estimates, Army, Navy, Ordnance'' (1843)
p. 151
/ref> On 12 December 1839 he took command of HMS ''Pylades'', an elderly eighteen gun sloop. He saw active service with her in China during the

Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

and took part in the

Battle of Amoy The Battle of Amoy was fought between British and Qing forces at Amoy (present-day Xiamen) on Xiamen Island, Fujian, in the Qing Empire on 26August 1841 during the First Opium War. The British captured the forts at Xiamen and on nearby Gulangy ...

. On 29 July 1840, under Anson's command, ''Pylades'' destroyed a "piratical junk" off the coast of China, an action which led to the distribution of bounty money. On 8 June 1841 he was promoted

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 ...

. Returning to England in 1842, he took a long break from the sea, during which he got married. His next command was ''Euridice'', an almost new 24-gun

post ship Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the second half of the 18th century and the Napoleonic Wars to describe a sixth-rate ship (see rating system of the Royal Navy) that was smaller than a frigate (in practice, carrying ...

, in 1846, after the death of his wife. Anson's final command, from 23 May 1856 to 23 April 1857, was ''James Watt'', a 91-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

. Anson was promoted Rear-Admiral on the Reserved List (meaning

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...

) on 29 July 1861 and Vice-Admiral on the Reserved List on 6 April 1866. He retired on 20 October 1872 with the rank of admiral. When he died in 1895 Anson was living at 7, College Crescent,

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

. He left an estate valued at £320.

Marriages and children

On 13 June 1843, Anson married Sarah Ann Potter (born 1822), a daughter of Richard Potter, a Manchester merchant who had died the year before. She died on 5 May 1846. They had two sons, George Vernon Anson (1844–1876) and Charles Vernon Anson (1846–1905). On 24 August 1847, in

Port Louis Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, Anson married secondly Caroline Octavia Emma Staveley, daughter of Major-General William Staveley,

Commander British Forces in Hong Kong The Commander British Forces in Hong Kong (CBF) was a senior British Army officer who acted as Military Advisor to the Governor of Hong Kong and was in charge of the Hong Kong British Forces. The officeholder of this post concurrently assumed the ...

and with her had another four children, Adelaide Frances Mary, Sarah Constance (1849–1925), William Staveley Stuart (1853–1873), and Charlotte Rose (1856–1932). The second Mrs Anson died on 5 January 1894 at 7, College Crescent,

. In proceedings in the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...

in June 1873, Anson, as guardian of Mabel Alice, Maude, Ruth Isabel, Edith Mary, Ethel Blanche, Mercy Lilian, and Mary Beatrice Okeover, was one of the petitioners asking the Lord Chancellor to permit the sale of the Atlow estate in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

.''The London Gazette'', issue 23985 dated 10 June 1873, pp
2808
an
2809
/ref>

Notes

External links

Talavera Vernon Anson
at threedecks.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Anson, Talavera Vernon 1809 births 1895 deaths Royal Navy admirals Talavera Vernon Anson Potter family