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Although not one of the ‘inner circle’ of the Band of Brothers, George Hope nevertheless enjoyed Lord Nelson’s confidence and sincere friendship. A portrait of him by Charles Turner, now in the National Portrait Gallery, shows an earnest expression, and, in the way he clutches his telescope, a man devoted to duty.
George Johnstone Hope was born on 6 July 1767. He was the son of the Honourable Charles Hope-Vere, by his third wife, Helen, the daughter of George Dunbar. His grandfather was Charles, First Earl of Hopetoun. He was related also to the Dundas family, a connection that would prove beneficial to his later career.
Young Hope entered the Navy at the age of thirteen on 8 March 1781. He was rated as captain’s servant on board hmsIphegenia. On 27 September 1782, he was promoted midshipman. On 29 February 1788, he gained his lieutenancy and two years later, on 22 November, was made master and commander of the Racehorse sloop. He had done well to proceed so far so soon in peacetime.
At the outbreak of war with France in 1793, he was in command of hmsBulldog (13) in the Mediterranean, employed on convoy duty under the command of Vice Admiral Lord Hood. On 13 September the same year, he was promoted captain and given the command of the Romulus, serving under Vice Admiral Sir William Hotham. He saw action against the French off Genoa in 1795.
In May 1798, Hope, in the frigate Alcmene, was sent by Lord St Vincent to join Nelson in the Mediterranean on his search for the French expeditionary force. Hearing that Nelson’s flagship, the Vanguard, had been badly damaged in a storm. Hope erroneously supposed that Nelson would make for Gibraltar for repairs and took his ship and the rest of Nelson’s frigates there, thus depriving the admiral of his scouts at a critical point on the campaign. ‘I thought he would have known me better,’ Nelson said in frustration.
Hope continued to serve in the Mediterranean, firstly off Alexandria, where he chased and captured the French gunboat Légère and captured dispatches intended for Napoleon, despite a French officer attempting to jettison them. Then he served with Nelson again during the civil war in Naples in 1798/9 when he helped to evacuate the King and Queen of Naples and their entourage from Naples to Palermo. Later, in August 1799, he received a letter from Nelson:
I have his Sicilian Majesty’s orders to present you in his name a Diamond Ring, as the dispatch states it, ‘To Captain Hope, who embarked his Majesty and the Prince Royal in his barge, on the night of December 21st, 1798,’ and which his Majesty desires may be accepted by Captain Hope, as a mark of his Royal gratitude. Ever yours, my dear Hope, faithfully and affectionately, Nelson.
In 1801, he commanded the Leda (38) in the Egyptian campaign and continued in active service – so much so that shortly before Trafalgar, it was reported that he had been at home only fourteen months in the previous eight years.
At Trafalgar, hmsDefence sailed at the very rear of Collingwood’s column, and thus was unable to engage the enemy closely until nearly two and a half hours after firing had commenced. Then, for nearly half an hour, she engaged the French Berwick. As that ship pulled away from the Defence, only to be attacked by the British Achilles, Hope turned his attention to joining the Revenge in pounding the Spanish San Ildefonso into submission. The Defence had thirty-six killed and wounded, and, by comparison with other British ships, suffered relatively minor damage. Hope managed to anchor with his prize and weathered the gale that ensued: as a result, the San Ildefonso was one of the few trophies to survive both battle and storm. For the part he played, Hope received the naval gold medal, the thanks of Parliament, and a sword of honour from the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund.
Post Trafalgar, he served in the fleet in the Baltic under Sir James Saumarez, and was made a rear admiral in 1811. In 1812/3 he was sent to bring the Russian fleet to England during the French invasion of that country. When Lord Melville returned to the Admiralty, Hope was again named one of the Lords. His patent is dated 24 May 1816. He continued in this office until his death (which took place at the Admiralty) in May 1818. He was a Knight Commander of the Bath, and for some time MP for Esat Grinstead.
AJC
Memorial
Type: Wall monument Material: White marble Location: Westminster Abbey, London Click here to read more…