George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington
Vice-Admiral George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington (5 January 1768–18 June 1831), Royal Navy, commanded , the ship which returned King William I to the Netherlands from his exile in London, for which service he was appointed by the king to the Military Order of William. Early life George Byng was born the eldest son of Colonel the Honourable John Byng and his wife Bridget, the daughter of Commodore Arthur Forrest, in London on 5 January 1768. He was initially educated at Greenwich but was then moved to a seminary at Paddington where he completed his education in preparation for joining the Royal Navy, as had been planned for him from an early age. Naval career Byng joined the Royal Navy on 23 February 1778, embarking on the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Thunderer as a midshipman. Thunderer made up part of the fleet of Admiral Augustus Keppel, and on 27 July Byng saw his first action at the indecisive Battle of Ushant. In 1780 he transferred to the 32-gun frigate HMS Alarm, but soon after he moved again, joining the 32-gun frigate HMS Active. In her Byng fought at the Battle of Porto Praya on 16 April 1781. After the battle Active was detached from her squadron as part of a convoy escort sailing to the East Indies Station; when she arrived there Byng was taken on board the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Superb, which was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes. Staying in the ship, Byng subsequently served at the two of the battles fought between Hughes and the French admiral Pierre André de Suffren, coming very close to being killed in the latter of the two when the gun crew he was commanding were all cut down by the impact of a cannon ball, but Byng escaped with only a minor splinter injury. In September 1783 the Anglo-French War ended and Hughes returned home. Byng, however, did not go with him and instead transferred to the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Defence, the flagship of Commodore Andrew Mitchell. He finally returned home from the East Indies in Defence in December 1785. Upon arriving home Byng passed his examination for promotion to lieutenant but did not immediately receive the advancement, instead joining the 50-gun fourth rate HMS Jupiter, which was the flagship of Commodore William Parker on the Leeward Islands Station. In 1789 Parker was due to leave the Leeward Islands, but before he did so a position for a lieutenant came available, and Byng was one of two candidates for it. Parker had Byng and the other midshipman, Joseph Bingham, throw a die to decide who received the promotion; Bingham won and left with Parker as a lieutenant. Parker was replaced on station by Rear-Admiral Sir John Laforey, who took Byng on board his flagship, the 50-gun fourth rate HMS Trusty. In September 1790 Byng finally received his promotion to lieutenant, joining the 16-gun sloop HMS Shark, in which he then sailed home