John Leake

Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Leake (4 July 1656 – 21 August 1720) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who represented Rochester in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1715. He served in the Third Anglo-Dutch War as a junior officer, participating in the Battle of Texel. During the Williamite War in Ireland, Leake distinguished himself by leading a convoy which broke the barricading boom at Culmore Fort and lifted the siege of Derry. As a captain he fought in the Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue of the Nine Years' War.

In 1702 Leake was appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland. Promoted to flag officer in 1704, he served as second-in-command to Admiral George Rooke at the capture of Gibraltar and commanded the Anglo-Dutch vanguard at the Battle of Málaga during the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1705, he led a combined English, Dutch and Portuguese fleet to victory over a French fleet under Baron de Pointis at the Battle of Cabrita Point.

Leake served under Sir Cloudesley Shovell and the Earl of Peterborough at the siege of Barcelona and was present at the capitulation of the city in 1706. A second siege took place between when a Franco-Spanish army led by Philip V of Spain laid siege to Barcelona in an attempt to recapture it. The Franco-Spanish army abandoned the siege when Leake arrived. Leake later captured Sardinia and landed the Earl of Stanhope with forces that took the well-fortified harbour of Port Mahon on Minorca. Leake also served First Lord of the Admiralty from 1710 to 1712.