Admiral Sir Home Popham, KCB, KM, FRS

Admiral Sir Home Popham, KCB, KM, FRS
Title:Admiral Sir
First name:Home
Surname:Popham,
Post-nominals:KCB, KM, FRS
Year elected:1816
Last year on list:1820
MembershipNaval

Born in Gibraltar in 1762, his father was the consul at Tétouan in northern Morocco, and Home was his mother's 21st child.

He joined the Navy in 1778 and served initially in the American War of Independence.  He was promoted to Captain in 1795.

On his own initiative in 1798 he established the Sea Fencibles - an inshore defence line against the French used in conjunction with the Martello Towers running from Deal to Beachy Head.

In 1805 he schemed and led an unsuccessful attempt to establish a foothold in Argentina for which he was censured at court martial.  The City of London, however, thought differently and awarded him a sword of honour for his endeavours to open up a new market for Britain's trade.

He continued commanding at sea at the Second Copenhagen Expedition and then Venerable, 74, against the French in Spain.

He was one of the more scientifically-minded officers of his day and did much to develop the Navy's signalling.  His Popham Numerical Code was adopted in 1803 and it was his Telegraphic Signals of Marine Vocabulary that was used for Nelson's famous signal at Trafalgar.  This code was subsequently adopted for The Yacht Club's signal book in 1822.

While not at sea, Popham was the MP for Yarmouth (1804-1806), Shaftesbury (1806-1807) and Ipswich (1807-1812).

He died in 1820 aged 58.
 

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