James Bremer

Who was James Bremer?

Sir James John Gordon Bremer, KCB, KCH was a British Royal Navy officer. He served in the Napoleonic Wars, First Anglo-Burmese War, and First Anglo-Chinese War. In China, he served twice as commander-in-chief of British forces.

Born in Portsea, Portsmouth, Bremer joined the Royal Navy in 1794. While serving in the East Indies, he became commander of HMS Rattlesnake. He was promoted to captain in 1814 and was nominated a CB the following year. After becoming commander of HMS Tamar, he was sent to Melville Island, Australia, in 1824 to establish a colony. Under his leadership, the north coast of Australia from 129° to 135° longitude was claimed as British territory.

Bremer served twice as commander-in-chief of British forces in the First Anglo-Chinese War from 1839 to 1841. During the war, he took formal possession of Hong Kong Island for the United Kingdom in 1841. He was made a KCB the same year. In 1846, he was appointed second-in-command of the Channel Fleet and was superintendent of Woolwich Dockyard from which he retired in 1848. He died in 1850, having risen to the rank of rear-admiral.