Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke (1650 – 24 January 1709) was an Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain, he conveyed Prince William of Orange to England and took part in the Battle of Bantry Bay during the Williamite War in Ireland.

As a flag officer, Rooke commanded a division of the Royal Navy during their defeat at the Battle of Beachy Head. He also commanded a division at the Battle of Barfleur and distinguished himself at the Battle of La Hogue. He was later defeated while escorting a convoy at the Battle of Lagos.

Rooke commanded the unsuccessful allied expedition against Cádiz but on the passage home he destroyed the Spanish treasure fleet at the Battle of Vigo Bay in the opening stages of the War of the Spanish Succession. He also commanded the allied naval forces at the capture of Gibraltar and attacked the French fleet at the Battle of Málaga.

Early career

thumb|upright| portrait of Rooke by [[Michael Dahl]]

thumb|upright|Portrait of Rooke's third wife Catherine by [[Sir Godfrey Kneller]]

thumb|upright|Statue of Rooke erected in Gibraltar in 2004 to celebrate 300 years of British rule

Born the son of Colonel Sir William Rooke and Jane Rooke (née Finch), Rooke joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1672. Promoted to lieutenant later in the year, he was appointed to the first-rate HMS London, flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Spragge, and saw action when a combined British and French fleet was surprised and attacked by the Dutch, led by Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, at the Battle of Solebay off the Suffolk coast in May 1672 during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. He transferred to the first-rate HMS Royal Prince, flagship of the Duke of York, in 1673 and saw action again at the Battle of Schooneveld in June 1673. Promoted to vice-admiral on 20 January 1692, he hoisted his flag in the second-rate HMS Neptune and served under Admiral Edward Russell commanding the vanguard division of the rear squadron at the Battle of Barfleur in May 1692. After temporarily transferring his flag to the third-rate HMS Eagle, he distinguished himself in a night attack on the French fleet at Battle of La Hogue when he succeeded in burning twelve of the enemy's ships. Knighted on 20 February 1693, he commanded the escort for Smyrna convoy, which was scattered and partly captured by the French Admiral Anne Hilarion de Tourville near Lagos, Portugal, in June 1693. He was promoted to full admiral in July 1693. He also became commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in August 1695 and then returned to England in April 1696. Promoted to Admiral of the Fleet shortly afterwards, he was given command the Channel Fleet but was unable to stop the French squadron which sailed from Toulon from reaching Brest and was criticised at the subsequent inquiry.

Rooke hoisted his flag in the second-rate HMS Shrewsbury in Spring 1700 and took command of an Anglo-Dutch Squadron, which while working in co-operation with a Swedish fleet under Admiral-General Hans Wachtmeister, attacked Copenhagen so facilitating the landing of King Charles XII of Sweden and his army in Denmark in August 1700 in the opening phase of the Great Northern War. However, on arrival in August 1702 the Allies made little or no progress in the assault on Cádiz. Fort Matagorda held out, and after several days Rooke declared that even if the fort was taken, another stronghold guarding the entrance to the Puntales (a sandy spit near the entrance to the inner harbour) would prevent the fleet from navigating the narrow passage: and so the mission was abandoned. However the English Government had become aware that a Spanish treasure fleet was sitting in Vigo Bay and instructed Rooke to intercept it in October 1702. The third-rate HMS Torbay, commanded by Thomas Hopsonn, led the assault on the boom across the bay and, once it was breached, there was not a single French or Spanish vessel that had not been either captured or destroyed at the Battle of Vigo Bay. Rooke received the thanks of Parliament in this important action in the opening stages of the War of the Spanish Succession. a landing party disembarked, hoisted the Union Flag and captured Gibraltar. Rooke also attacked the French fleet at the Battle of Málaga later that month. on 24 January 1709 and was buried at St Paul's Church in Canterbury.

Family

In around October 1684 Rooke married Mary Howe. After the death of his first wife he married Mary Luttrell in January 1701; they had one son. After the death of his second wife, he married Catherine Knatchbull in January 1706.

References

Sources

Further reading

  • George Rooke Three Decks

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