Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet (19th century)
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The second Admiral Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, GCB (1 December 1781 – 13 November 1866) was born at Almington, Staffordshire, England. He was not related to the previous Admiral Sir William Parker. His father, George Parker, was the second son of Sir Thomas Parker, who had been lord chief baron of the exchequer. Sir Thomas Parker's nephew was John Jervis, first Earl of St. Vincent.
William Parker entered the navy in February 1793 as a captain's servant on the HMS Orion, serving under Captain John Thomas Duckworth. The Orion was part of the Channel fleet under Lord Howe and took part in the Battle of The Glorious First of June. When Captain Duckworth was assigned to another ship, HMS Leviathan, Parker followed him, and sailed with him to the West Indies where Duckworth appointed him acting lieutenant of the frigate HMS Magicienne. In May 1798 he was appointed to the Queen, flagship of Sir Hyde Parker, and on May 1, 1799 became acting captain of the Volage. During the next few months he cruised in the Gulf of Mexico and the coast of Cuba. In 1800 he returned to England and then spent nearly a year in the North Sea with the blockade fleet off Brest. He became Post Captain in October 1801. In November he assumed command of HMS Amazon, which he commanded for nearly 11 years. He was attached to the fleet under Admiral Lord Nelson and accompanied the fleet to the West Indies. The Amazon was then sent on a cruise westward and therefore missed the Battle of Trafalgar. She was later attached to a squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren, participating in the capture of the French ships Marengo and Belle poule. Parker was almost constantly on the move with the Amazon, mainly along the coast of Spain and Portugal, until January 1812 when the ship was paid off.
Parker purchased Shenstone Lodge near Lichfield, where he lived and for the next 15 years. In 1827, however, he returned to sea as captain of HMS Warspite, and acted in 1828 as senior officer off the coast of Greece. In December that year he was appointed to command the royal yacht. On 22 July 22 1830 he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral and in April 1831 was appointed second in command of the Channel Squadron, under Sir Edward Codrington. In September 1831 he was detached on an independent command on the Tagus, where he went to protect British interests during the Portuguese Civil War. When he returned to England he was appointed one of the Lords of the Admiralty. He left the Admiralty in 1841, and was appointed commander-in-chief in China. Parker sailed for Hong Kong and assumed command of the squadron on 10 August 1841. The British proceeded to capture Amoy, Ningpo, Woosung and Shanghai, ending with the seizure of Chin-kiang-foo and closing the entrance to the Grand Canal on July 21, 1842. Parker received a G.C.B. in 1843, a good-service pension in 1844 and a baronetcy in 1841. In November of that year he had been appointed Vice-Admiral and in 1845 was commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. In 1846, because of his knowledge of Portugal and its politics, he was appointed to command the Channel Fleet. In 1848, however, he returned to the Mediterranean. In 1852 he attained the rank of Admiral and returned to England.
He continued to be active, serving as a consultant on a variety of projects. In 1863 he became an Admiral of the Fleet. He died on 13 November 1866 from complications from bronchitis. He was buried in his parish churchyard near his home at Shenstone Lodge, and a monument to his memory was erected in Lichfield Cathedral.
| Honorary Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Francis Austen |
Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom 1862–1863 |
Succeeded by Sir George Francis Seymour |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New Title | Baronet (of Shenstone) 1844–1866 |
Succeeded by William Biddulph Parker |
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe • Sir Peter Parker • Prince William, Duke of Clarence • Sir George Cockburn • Sir Thomas Hardy • The Hon. George Heneage Dundas • Charles Adam • Sir Charles Adam • Sir William Parker • Sir Charles Adam • James Whitley Deans Dundas • Hyde Parker • The Hon. Maurice Fitzhardinge Berkeley • William Fanshawe Martin • The Hon. Sir Richard Saunders Dundas • The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey • Sir Sydney Dacres • Sir Alexander Milne • Sir Hastings Yelverton • George Wellesley • Sir Astley Cooper Key • Sir Arthur Acland Hood • Lord John Hay • Sir R. Vesey Hamilton • Sir Anthony Hoskins • Sir Frederick Richards • Lord Walter Kerr • Sir Jackie Fisher • Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson • Sir Francis Bridgeman • Prince Louis of Battenberg • Sir Henry Jackson • Sir John Jellicoe • Sir Rosslyn Wemyss • The Earl Beatty • Sir Charles Madden, Bt • Sir Frederick Field • The Lord Chatfield • Sir Roger Backhouse • Sir Dudley Pound • The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope • Sir John Cunningham • The Lord Fraser of North Cape • Sir Rhoderick McGrigor • The Earl Mountbatten of Burma • Sir Charles Lambe • Sir Caspar John • Sir David Luce • Sir Varyl Begg • Sir Michael Le Fanu • Sir Peter Hill-Norton • Sir Michael Pollock • Sir Edward Ashmore • Sir Terence Lewin • Sir Henry Leach • Sir John Fieldhouse • Sir William Staveley • Sir Julian Oswald • Sir Benjamin Bathurst • Sir Jock Slater • Sir Michael Boyce • Sir Nigel Essenhigh • Sir Alan West • Sir Jonathon Band •
