Charles Holmes

Rear-Admiral Charles Holmes (19 September 1711 – 21 November 1761) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. He was Wolfe's third-in-command during the capture of Quebec in 1759. Holmes is also known for leading a British squadron up the River Ems in 1758, leading directly to the capture of Emden.

Early life Holmes was the fourth son of Colonel Henry Holmes, Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight. His maternal grandfather Admiral Sir Robert Holmes, who had overseen Holmes's Bonfire, was one of England's most noted naval leaders during the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the previous century.

Joining the navy at the age of 16, Charles Holmes was promoted to lieutenant in 1734 and received his first command in 1741. In 1747 he was given command of HMS Lenox, one of the biggest warships in the navy, but peace was signed the following year and he would serve for the next few years in British waters. during his time there his fleet destroyed a French convoy in the Windward Passage in October 1760. Holmes died in Jamaica in November 1761. There is a memorial to him in Westminster Abbey.

Holmes was elected Member of Parliament for Newport, Isle of Wight in 1758, and held the seat until his death three years later. (Two of his brothers, General Henry Holmes and Thomas Holmes were also MPs for Isle of Wight constituencies.) He was also a member of the court martial that tried and condemned Admiral Byng in 1757. He was a known patron of brothel keeper Jane Douglas.