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| British notes Guernsey £20 pounds |
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| British banknotes Guernsey £20 pounds |
States of Guernsey 20 Pounds banknote 1980 - 1989 issue.
The States Treasurer of The States of Guernsey.
Guernsey pound, Guernsey banknotes, Guernsey paper money, Guernsey bank notes.
Obverse: £20, Guernsey States seal at lower left, 1815 scene of Saumarez Park at lower center in underprint. Saumarez Park is the largest public park in Guernsey, this traditional gradens, such as the rose garden, and a Japanese walk, fishing hut and plants from the far east.
Reverse: Portrait of Vice-Admiral Lord de Saumarez (11 March 1757 - 9 October 1836), admiral of the British Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras. He was born at St Peter Port Guernsey.
Sailing ships at Gibraltar bay - The British squadron putting to sea on 12.07.1801 with five sail of the line and one frigate (Second battle of Algeciras).
Signature: State treasurer - M. J. Brown.
Printer: De La Rue, London England.
Guernsey banknotes - Guernsey paper money
1980-1991 Issue
One Pounds 5 Pounds 10 Pounds 20 Pounds
Vice-Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez
James Saumarez, 1st Baron of Saumarez (born March 11, 1757, St. Peter Port, Guernsey — died Oct. 9, 1836, Guernsey), admiral of the British Royal Navy who fought with consistent success in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and scored perhaps his greatest victory on July 12, 1801, when he routed a superior Franco-Spanish fleet off Algeciras, Spain.
Entering the navy at the age of 13, Saumarez was promoted to lieutenant for bravery during the attack on Charleston, S.C. (June 28, 1776), in the American Revolutionary War and to commander for his part in a battle against the Dutch off the Dogger Bank (Aug. 5, 1781). In command of the 74-gun Russell, he helped Adm. George Rodney defeat the French under the Comte de Grasse in the Battle of the Saints off Dominica (April 12, 1782).
Soon after the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France, Saumarez captured (Oct. 20, 1793) La Réunion, a large French frigate, and was knighted shortly afterward. He took part in the naval battles off Lorient (June 22, 1795) and Cape St. Vincent (Feb. 14, 1797) and in the blockade of Cádiz (February 1797–April 1798). In the Battle of the Nile (Aug. 1, 1798) he was Horatio (afterward Viscount) Nelson’s second in command. From February 1799 he commanded the 84-gun Caesar. He was created a baronet on June 13, 1801, a month before his victory of Algeciras.
Saumarez commanded the Baltic Fleet with distinction from 1809 to 1814, when he was promoted to admiral and received honours from King Charles XIII of Sweden. On Sept. 15, 1831, he was created Baron de Saumarez by King William IV. In February 1832 Saumarez was appointed general of marines, a post abolished after his death.
Second Battle of Algeciras
The Second Battle of Algeciras (also known as the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) was a naval battle fought on the night of 12 July 1801 (23 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of the line and a larger squadron of ships from the Spanish Navy and French Navy in the Gut of Gibraltar. The battle followed closely the First Battle of Algeciras on 6 July, in which a French squadron anchored at the Spanish port of Algeciras was attacked by a larger British squadron based at nearby Gibraltar. In a heavy engagement fought in calm weather in the close confines of Algeciras Bay, the British force was becalmed and battered, suffering heavy casualties and losing the ship HMS Hannibal. Retiring for repairs, both sides called up reinforcements, the French receiving support first, from the Spanish fleet based at Cadiz, which sent six ships of the line to escort the French squadron to safety.
Arriving at Algeciras on 9 July, the combined squadron was ready to sail again on 12 July, departing Algeciras to the westwards during the evening. The British squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, having effected its own hasty repairs, set off in pursuit. Finding that his ships were falling behind, Saumarez instructed his captains to separate and attack the combined squadron as best they were able to. The fastest ship was HMS Superb under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats, which sailed through the Spanish rearguard as a moonless night fell. Superb fired on the rearmost ships, setting the 112-gun Real Carlos on fire and capturing the Saint Antoine. Unable to determine friend from foe in the darkness, Real Carlos inadvertently engaged the Spanish ship San Hermenegildo, spreading the fire to its compatriot. Both ships subsequently exploded with enormous loss of life. A second stage of the battle then developed, as HMS Venerable took the lead of the British line, attacking the rearmost French ship Formidable under Captain Amable Troude. In a furious and protracted engagement, Venerable suffered heavy damage and was driven ashore, allowing the remainder of the French force to return to Cadiz without further fighting.
In the aftermath of the action, Venerable was towed off the shoreline and back to Gibraltar for repairs, while the remainder of the British squadron restored the British blockade of the French and Spanish ships in Cadiz, returning the situation to that in place before the battle. This British victory, coming so soon after Saumarez's defeat in Algeciras harbour, did much to restore parity in the region and the heavy casualties inflicted on the Spanish were to contribute to a weakening of the Franco-Spanish alliance which was a contributory factor in the signing of Treaty of Amiens, which brought the war to a temporary halt early the following year. In France, despite the heavy Spanish losses, the battle was celebrated as a victory, with Troude widely praised and promoted for the defence of his ship.