ADMIRAL LORD GEORGE ANSON was Member of Parliament for Hedon from 1744 – 1747. He is, perhaps, the most famous person ever to have held the position of Hedon MP.
In 1740, during war with Spain, Commodore George Anson led a naval expedition to disrupt Spanish possessions in the South-Seas. He returned four years later in 1744 via China to complete a circumnavigation of the world.
The book of his journey A Voyage Round the World written in 1748 is a remarkable account. It contained a huge amount of useful information for future navigators and with 42 detailed charts and drawings it laid the basis for later expeditions by Captain Cook. But more than that, it is a professional account of seafaring adventures, naval warfare, of disease, wrecks, mutiny, treasure – and disasters, particularly disasters! Of the original 1,854 men that set sail from England, only 188 survived.
The book also changed the popular depiction at the time of naval officers as ferocious individuals with “a turn of mind and temper resembling the boisterous elements they had to deal with”. Anson was keen to promote seamanship, science and art as essential to a ship officers’ development.
Anson used his great influence and wealth to ‘acquire’ his Hedon parliamentary seat in the days when the influence of a patron determined who ‘won’ elections in the borough. It is not known if he ever visited Hedon during his term as its MP.
Anson continued his naval career with distinction, joining the Admiralty Board in 1744, then becoming First Lord of the Admiralty from 1751 to 1756, and again from June 1757 until his death in 1762.
Lots of places bear Anson’s name across the world, including Anson Villas in Paull, and seven British warships have been named HMS Anson.