AIR -- Roast Beef of old England

Behold where Britannia points, joyful, her lance!
In maritime pomp, behold Neptune Advance!
To land his lov'd hero from the Coast of France

Welcome, brave Hawke! to Old England;
To old England, o welcome, brave Hawke!

The hero, who more than two thirds of the year
Despising Conflans, before Brest did appear
There brav'd Foes and Storms, ever Stranger to Fear

November the twentieth, whilst clouds rattling few
The French who had meanly stole out, came in view
When, fierce as a Lion, to charge them he flew

Mid the thunder of Winds, and the Rage of the sea
Mid rocks, darkness, all that can horrible be
Yet a battle to risk, how intrepid was he!

But the Juncture, he knew, would admit no delay
His virtue, his honour cry'd "Show no Dismay
For the weal of three realms may depend on this day."

Loud bellow'd our Cannon, as loud th'Ocean roar'd
A panic seiz'd ev'ry poor Monsieur on board
When the Few who engag'd soon for Quarter implor'd

Five ships did, reluctant, the Combat sustain
Whilst eight trembling sneak'd up the River Vilaine
And the rest flew, like Feathers, all over the Main

This mighty blow struct, all invitation was o'er
The French, sure will think of "Armadas" no more
But bankrupt complete, their own folly deplore

No more (hapless Lewis!) thy squadrons prepare
To face valiant Hawke not a frenchman could dare
Since himself took three King's Ships, off Cape Finisterre*

Orford, Torrington, Anson, for Victories won
Found noble reward, and with high honours shone
How glorious a course has our admiral run

With the Thanks of the king, this great action was crown'd
With the Thanks of the Commons, their house did resound
And the voice that pronounc'd them, will fly the world round

All hail our bright AEra, the fam'd Fifty-Nine
All hail, hawke's companions, how greatly ye shine
All Hail, George the Second, what glory is Thine

* Oct. 14, 1747, in which Engagement Sir Edward Hawke (then on board the Devonshire, Commodore Moore being his Captain) took three French men of war, the Le Terrible, of 74 guns; Le Trident of 64; and La Severne, of 50.

F I N I S

[From "Hood Triumphant!; Or the Destruction of the French Fleet. 1793]

Here's a health to King George that sits upon the throne
May he conquer all his enemies and crush them to the ground
Not forgetting brave Lord Hood, who so valiantly did fight
For to protect his country, and maintain great George's right

[Admiral Hawke's Welcome to Old England on his Compleating the Ruin of the French Navy [on] October, 20, 1759.

Presented to his Royal Highness, Prince Edward, at Savile-House; and To be sung on the Theatre of the World.

Printed for the Author to entertain his friends, lovers of their King and Country, of our renowned Admiral, and of his gallant companions. MDCCLX.

(The song "Heart of Oak" was based on this battle of Quiberon Bay; The Royal George was the flagship of Hawke.)

* * *

Conflans: French admiral; Brest: City in France; Lewis = Louis XV

Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB (February 21, 1705 – October 16, 1781) was a naval officer of the Royal Navy.

Born in London, he joined the navy in 1720, but did not see fighting until the Battle of Toulon in 1744. During the War of the Austrian Succession he was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1747 and in the same year captured six ships of a French squadron in the Bay of Biscay in the second battle of Cape Finisterre. In the Seven Years' War, Hawke replaced Admiral John Byng as commander in the Mediterranean in 1756.

He blockaded Rochefort in 1757 and in 1758 he directed the blockade of Brest for six months. Driven off station by a storm, the French fleet under Hubert de Brienne, Comte de Conflans, took advantage and left port. On November 20, 1759 he followed the French warships and during a gale he won a sufficient victory in the Battle of Quiberon Bay, when combined with Edward Boscawen's victory at Lagos, to remove the French invasion threat.

He then retired from active duty, and given the honorary rank of Vice-Admiral of Great Britain in November 1765. He was made First Lord of the Admiralty in December 1766 and served until January 1771. He was made a baron in 1776.

Towards the end of his life he lived at Swaythling House, near Southampton, although he died in Sunbury-on-Thames. His memorial, depicting the Battle of Quiberon Bay, is in North Stoneham church near Swaythling.

* * *

The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire. The British Admiral Sir Edward Hawke with 23 ships of the line caught up with a French fleet with 21 ships of the line under Marshal de Conflans, and after hard fighting, sank, captured, or forced aground most of them, thus giving the Royal Navy one of its greatest victories.

]