Lieutenant General Thomas Fowke | |
|---|---|
 Fowke family home, Gunstone Hall | |
| Born | c. 1690 Gunstone, South Staffordshire |
| Died | 29 March 1765 Bath |
| Allegiance |  Great Britain |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1702–1756 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | Governor of Gibraltar 1753–1756 |
| Battles / wars | |
| Relations | Sir Frederick Fowke George Mason |
Lieutenant General Thomas Fowke, also spelt Foulks, circa 1690 to 29 March 1765, was a British military officer from South Staffordshire, who was Governor of Gibraltar from 1753 to 1756, and twice court-martialled during his service. The first followed defeat at Prestonpans in the 1745 Jacobite Rising, when he was acquitted. As Governor, he was tried again for his part in the 1756 Battle of Minorca, a defeat that led to the execution of Admiral Byng.
Despite limited responsibility for the defeat, Fowke was originally sentenced to nine months suspension, but George II insisted he be dismissed from the army. He was reinstated as Lieutenant General following the accession of George III in 1761 and died in Bath in March 1765.
Fowke's great-uncle emigrated to Virginia in 1651, and was closely related to George Mason, 1725 to 1792, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Mason built Gunston Hall, named after the family home in Gunstone, South Staffordshire; it is now an historic monument.