Home Riggs Popham
Encyclopedia
Admiral
Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB
(12 October 1762 – 2 September 1820) was a British
Royal Naval Commander who saw service during the French Revolutionary Wars
and the Napoleonic Wars
. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishments, particularly the development of a signal code that was adopted by the Royal Navy
in 1803.
in Morocco
, and was his mother's fifteenth child. Educated at Westminster School
, he was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1776, though it is unclear if he took up residence in Cambridge. He entered the navy in 1778 and served with the flag of Admiral George Rodney till the end of the American War of Independence
. In 1783 he was promoted to lieutenant, and was for a time engaged on survey service on the coast of Africa
.
Between 1787 and 1793 he was engaged in a series of commercial ventures in the Eastern Sea, sailing, first for the Imperial Ostem Company, and then in a vessel which he purchased and in part loaded himself.
During this time he took several surveys and rendered some services to the British East India Company
, which were officially acknowledged. In 1793, however, his ship was seized, partly on the grounds that he was carrying contraband, and partly because he was infringing the East India Company's monopoly. This loss was put at £70,000, and he was entangled in litigation. In 1805 he obtained compensation to the amount of £25,000. The case was a hard one, for he was undoubtedly sailing with the knowledge of officials in India
.
in Flanders
as "superintendent of Inland Navigation" and won his confidence. The protection of the duke was exercised with so much effect that Popham was promoted commander in 1794 and post captain in 1795. He was then engaged for several years in co-operating in a naval capacity with the troops of Great Britain and her allies. In the Red Sea
he was engaged in transporting the Indian troops employed in the expulsion of the French from Egypt
.
His bills for the repair of his ship at Calcutta were the excuse for an attack on him and for charging him with the amount. It was just the time of the general reform of the dockyards, and there was much suspicion in the air. It was also the case that Lord St. Vincent
did not like Popham, and that Benjamin Tucker
(1762–1829), secretary to the admiralty, who had been the admiral's secretary, was his creature and sycophant. However, Popham was not the man to be snuffed out without an effort. He brought his case before Parliament, and was able to prove that there had been, if not deliberate dishonesty, at least the very grossest carelessness on the part of his assailants.
In the spring of 1798 the Admiralty created the Sea Fencibles
, a force of coastal militia, following a plan by Popham.
Commissioned in 1805 to study the military plans being proposed by Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda
to the British Government, Popham then persuaded the authorities that, as the Spanish Colonies were discontented, it would be easy to promote a rising in Buenos Aires
. After co-operating with Sir David Baird
in the occupation of the Cape of Good Hope
in 1806, he led the attempt
on Buenos Aires with his squadron and 1400 soldiers; but the Spanish colonists, though discontented, were not disposed to accept British rule. They rose against the soldiers who landed, and took them prisoners.
Popham was recalled, and censured by a court martial for leaving his station; but the City of London presented him with a sword of honour for his endeavours to "open new markets," and the sentence did him limited harm. In 1806 he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to the Duke of Gloucester, and in 1807 Lord Gambier appointed him captain of the fleet for the Second Copenhagen Expedition
perhaps due to his familiarity to navigation of the Copenhagen Road he gained from previous service there in 1800. In 1809 he went on to command HMS Venerable, which he continued to command with success against the French in Spain.
(MP) for Yarmouth
from 1804 to 1806, for Shaftesbury
from 1806 to 1807, and for Ipswich
from 1807 to 1812.
guerrillas
to successfully harry the French troops and assault French fortresses on the Basque
coast while Wellington
was advancing through Spain. He was promoted to rear admiral
in 1814, and made K.C.B. in 1815. He died in Cheltenham
on 20 September 1820, leaving a large family, and is buried at Sunninghill
in Berkshire
.
Popham was one of the most scientific seamen of his time. He did much useful survey work, and was the author of the code using signal flags adopted by the admiralty in 1803 and used for many years. These were most famously used for the signal "England expects that every man will do his duty
". (See that article for a brief description of the code.)
His descendants remained actively involved in the armed forces of Britain and the British Empire until the 1970s.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(12 October 1762 – 2 September 1820) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Royal Naval Commander who saw service during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishments, particularly the development of a signal code that was adopted by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in 1803.
Early life and career
He was the son of Joseph Popham, consul at TétouanTétouan
Tetouan is a city in northern Morocco. The Berber name means literally "the eyes" and figuratively "the water springs". Tetouan is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea. It lies a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about 40 mi E.S.E. of Tangier...
in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and was his mother's fifteenth child. Educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, he was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1776, though it is unclear if he took up residence in Cambridge. He entered the navy in 1778 and served with the flag of Admiral George Rodney till the end of the American War of Independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. In 1783 he was promoted to lieutenant, and was for a time engaged on survey service on the coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
Between 1787 and 1793 he was engaged in a series of commercial ventures in the Eastern Sea, sailing, first for the Imperial Ostem Company, and then in a vessel which he purchased and in part loaded himself.
During this time he took several surveys and rendered some services to the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, which were officially acknowledged. In 1793, however, his ship was seized, partly on the grounds that he was carrying contraband, and partly because he was infringing the East India Company's monopoly. This loss was put at £70,000, and he was entangled in litigation. In 1805 he obtained compensation to the amount of £25,000. The case was a hard one, for he was undoubtedly sailing with the knowledge of officials in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Service in the wars with France
While this dispute was going on Popham had resumed his career as a naval officer. He served with the army under the Duke of YorkPrince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
as "superintendent of Inland Navigation" and won his confidence. The protection of the duke was exercised with so much effect that Popham was promoted commander in 1794 and post captain in 1795. He was then engaged for several years in co-operating in a naval capacity with the troops of Great Britain and her allies. In the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
he was engaged in transporting the Indian troops employed in the expulsion of the French from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
His bills for the repair of his ship at Calcutta were the excuse for an attack on him and for charging him with the amount. It was just the time of the general reform of the dockyards, and there was much suspicion in the air. It was also the case that Lord St. Vincent
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
did not like Popham, and that Benjamin Tucker
Benjamin Tucker
Benjamin Ricketson Tucker was a proponent of American individualist anarchism in the 19th century, and editor and publisher of the individualist anarchist periodical Liberty.-Summary:Tucker says that he became an anarchist at the age of 18...
(1762–1829), secretary to the admiralty, who had been the admiral's secretary, was his creature and sycophant. However, Popham was not the man to be snuffed out without an effort. He brought his case before Parliament, and was able to prove that there had been, if not deliberate dishonesty, at least the very grossest carelessness on the part of his assailants.
In the spring of 1798 the Admiralty created the Sea Fencibles
Sea Fencibles
The original Sea Fencibles were a naval militia established to provide a close-in line of defense to protect the United Kingdom from invasion by France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
, a force of coastal militia, following a plan by Popham.
Commissioned in 1805 to study the military plans being proposed by Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Ravelo y Rodríguez de Espinoza , commonly known as Francisco de Miranda , was a Venezuelan revolutionary...
to the British Government, Popham then persuaded the authorities that, as the Spanish Colonies were discontented, it would be easy to promote a rising in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. After co-operating with Sir David Baird
Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet
General Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet GCB was a British military leader.-Military career:He was born at Newbyth House in Haddingtonshire, Scotland, the son of an Edinburgh merchant family, and entered the British Army in 1772. He was sent to India in 1779 with the 73rd Highlanders, in which he...
in the occupation of the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
in 1806, he led the attempt
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
The British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...
on Buenos Aires with his squadron and 1400 soldiers; but the Spanish colonists, though discontented, were not disposed to accept British rule. They rose against the soldiers who landed, and took them prisoners.
Popham was recalled, and censured by a court martial for leaving his station; but the City of London presented him with a sword of honour for his endeavours to "open new markets," and the sentence did him limited harm. In 1806 he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to the Duke of Gloucester, and in 1807 Lord Gambier appointed him captain of the fleet for the Second Copenhagen Expedition
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
perhaps due to his familiarity to navigation of the Copenhagen Road he gained from previous service there in 1800. In 1809 he went on to command HMS Venerable, which he continued to command with success against the French in Spain.
Parliament
Popham was Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Yarmouth
Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)
Yarmouth was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
from 1804 to 1806, for Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Shaftesbury was a parliamentary constituency in Dorset. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1295 until 1832 and one member until the constituency was abolished in 1885....
from 1806 to 1807, and for Ipswich
Ipswich (UK Parliament constituency)
Ipswich is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
from 1807 to 1812.
Last years and legacy
Despite the court martial he was appointed to other commands. In 1812 and 1813 he was stationed on the northern coast of Spain where he worked with the SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
to successfully harry the French troops and assault French fortresses on the Basque
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
coast while Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
was advancing through Spain. He was promoted to rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
in 1814, and made K.C.B. in 1815. He died in Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
on 20 September 1820, leaving a large family, and is buried at Sunninghill
Sunninghill, Berkshire
Sunninghill is a village in the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English shire county of Berkshire-Location:...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
Popham was one of the most scientific seamen of his time. He did much useful survey work, and was the author of the code using signal flags adopted by the admiralty in 1803 and used for many years. These were most famously used for the signal "England expects that every man will do his duty
England expects that every man will do his duty
"England expects that every man will do his duty" was a signal sent by Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson from his flagship HMS Victory as the Battle of Trafalgar was about to commence on 21 October 1805. Trafalgar was the decisive naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars...
". (See that article for a brief description of the code.)
His descendants remained actively involved in the armed forces of Britain and the British Empire until the 1970s.