Early career George Bowyer was baptised at
Denham, Buckinghamshire, on 3 May 1740, the third son of
Sir William Bowyer, 3rd Baronet, and his wife Anne, the daughter of
Sir John Stonhouse, 3rd Baronet. Bowyer joined the
Royal Navy as a captain's servant on board the
frigate , commanded by Captain
Richard Howe, on 11 May 1751. As a follower of Howe's he transferred with him to the brand new
post ship on 16 July 1752. In
Dolphin Bowyer served off the coast of West Africa, where in 1753 they investigated the martial intentions of the pirates of
Sallee, on the
Leeward Islands Station and in the
Mediterranean Fleet before transferring to the
ship of the line as a
midshipman on 30 October 1755. He served in
Princess Louisa during the
Battle of Minorca on 20 May 1756. Bowyer subsequently transferred to the ship of the line on 12 November and then to the ship of the line
HMS Royal Anne on 20 April 1757 in which he took part in the
Raid on Rochefort in September while serving in the
English Channel. He passed his exam for
lieutenant on 6 February 1758 and was promoted to that rank on 13 February and sent to the
West Indies to serve on the ship of the line as her third lieutenant. As such he fought at the
Siege of Louisbourg between 6 June and 27 July, before becoming the second lieutenant of
Nottingham on 25 August. On 31 January 1760 he left
Nottingham to re-join his mentor Howe on the ship of the line as her fourth lieutenant. Bowyer was promoted to
commander on 4 May 1761 and given as his first command the newly captured
cutter , which had been the French
privateer Le Comte de Valence. He patrolled off the southern coast of England until 30 June 1762 when
Swift was attacked and captured by the French privateer
Manley off
Ushant. The French ship had been much larger than Bowyer's command, and at the subsequent
court martial (held after the loss of any Royal Navy ship) he was acquitted, "having done everything in his power for escaping the enemy" before being captured.
Post-captain Swift was Bowyer's only command as a commander because on 28 October 1762 he was promoted to
post-captain. He was given command of the frigate at the same time and served in her in the Mediterranean until 17 December 1763 when he
paid her off, the
Seven Years' War having ended. Bowyer stayed unemployed until the outbreak of the
American War of Independence in 1775, and on 31 October 1776 he was given command of the ship of the line in which he served off the coast of Ireland. He left
Burford to recommission the ship of the line on 4 May 1778; on 9 June he sailed her to North America before travelling to the West Indies on 13 December as part of the fleet of Vice-Admiral
John Byron. As part of the fleet Bowyer fought at the
Battle of Grenada on 6 July 1779. Having afterwards joined the fleet of Admiral
Sir George Rodney in
Albion, Bowyer fought in a number of actions against the French admiral
de Guichen. The first of these was the
Battle of Martinique on 17 April 1780 where Rodney attempted to concentrate multiple ships against each French vessel; Bowyer understood this order but it was confused by many others and he was ordered away from attacking in the correct way by Rear-Admiral
Hyde Parker. The battle ended indecisively. On 15 May the two fleets collided again after a fluke change in the wind allowed the French to
cross the T in front of the British.
Albion and Bowyer were sailing at the front of the British column and received the concentrated fire of fifteen French ships as they sailed towards them, eventually turning to run parallel along the French line with the rest of the fleet's vanguard. Bowyer took part in a similar action again on 19 May where the two fleets played a game of cat and mouse in an attempt to gain a strong tactical advantage. Bowyer left the West Indies and returned to England on 24 December 1781, staying unemployed until 20 March 1783 when he was given command of the ship of the line in the
Medway. Here the vessel served as a
guardship, with Bowyer being made a
commodore for the purpose. Bowyer left
Irresistible and reverted to his rank as a post-captain on 22 June 1785, going on
half pay. His next command came on 3 October 1787 when he recommissioned the ship of the line but this commission was cut short and he paid her off on 7 December. Bowyer was appointed a
Colonel of Marines, an honorary position for post-captains, on 24 September 1787 and received his next command, the brand new ship of the line , at the beginning of the
Spanish Armament on 18 August 1790. The crisis having abated, Bowyer left
Boyne on 10 January 1791; she was his last command as a post-captain.
Flag rank Bowyer was promoted to
rear-admiral on 1 February 1793. He was sent to join the
Channel Fleet under the now Admiral Howe, raising his
flag in the ship of the line with Captain
Cuthbert Collingwood as his
flag captain, on 10 March. He transferred with Collingwood to the ship of the line when
Prince was paid off in December 1793, staying in the Channel. On 1 June 1794 the fleet fought the battle of the
Glorious First of June, with Bowyer being heavily engaged with the French from 29 May. Bowyer commanded the first division of the centre of the fleet during the battle, having under his command
Barfleur and the ships of the line , , , , and
HMS Gibraltar. At around 10 a.m. on 1 June itself Bowyer had his leg shot off by French fire, being caught by his flag captain as he fell. He was carried down to the ship's surgeon where the leg was amputated; Collingwood took over in his stead for the remainder of the battle. Bowyer officially left
Barfleur in August. Bowyer was rewarded for his part in the victory, being made a
baronet on 16 August and receiving a
Naval Gold Medal. Having lost his leg, for which he received a pension of £1,000 a year, Bowyer was no longer able to actively serve in the navy, but was promoted to
vice-admiral on 4 July of the same year and to
admiral on 14 February 1799. While already a baronet in his own right, Bowyer succeeded to the family baronetcy held by his brother
William when the latter died in April. Having inherited
Radley Hall from his uncle
Sir James Stonhouse, 10th Baronet, in April 1792, Bowyer lived there until his death on 9 December 1800. He was buried at the local parish church on 16 December. ==Political career==