William Say after Sir William Beechey.

Sir Charles Morice Pole, Bar.t K.G.C.B. Admiral of the Red

10½ x 14½ inches

Our final contributor comes in the nautical form of Sir Charles Pole (1757-1830)and demonstrates, contrary to what one might think, that a fortunate minority in Georgian England lived to a ripe old age. Pole was born before George III ascended the throne and died during the reign of King William IV having witnessed The American War of Independence, The French Revolutionary Wars, the highs and lows of life during the Regency and the arrival of the steam train. Apprenticed to the Royal Navy at the age of just 13 he had risen to captaincy by the time he was 22. His distinguished naval career took him all over the world from India in the east to Newfoundland in the west, where he acted as governor from 1800-01. Back in Blighty he became a member of parliament for Newark before ending his career as Governor of the Bank of England. What changes he must have witnessed. What a perspective he would have had on the world beyond our shores. His would have been a fitting testimony to the reign of King George III.