The Western Squadron was a squadron or formation of the Royal Navy based at Plymouth Dockyard. It operated in waters of the English Channel, the Western Approaches, and the North Atlantic. It defended British trade sea lanes from 1650 to 1814 and 1831 to 1854. Following Admiralty orders to Lord Anson he was instructed to combine all existing commands in the English Channel - those at the Downs, Narrow Seas, Plymouth and the Spithead - under a centralized command under the Commander-in-Chief, Western Squadron in 1746. The squadron was commanded by the Flag Officer with the dual title of Commander-in-Chief, English Channel and Commander-in-Chief, Western Squadron History In 1650 Captain William Penn, was charged with guarding the Channel from Beachy Head to Land's End with six ships. This system continued following the Restoration. It was the start of what was to become a Western Squadron. In 1690 the Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford was given command of a fleet in the channel. From 1705 until the 1740s it was essentially Cruising Squadron before it changed to blockading duties. In 1746 the Admiralty authorised Admiral Anson to combine all the Channel commands into the Western Squadron, based in Plymouth. During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) the Western Squadron was one of Britain’s most critical military assets frequently patrolling the entrance to the English Channel and making regular sweeps into the Bay of Biscay and the waters off Ushant. One of its responsibilities was trade protection ensuring the safe return of inbound trade from the East Indies and West Indies. The squadron was involved at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747), the Battle of Quiberon Bay (1756), and the Battle of Ushant (1778). By 1801 its main role was still to stop French ships from French naval bases at Brest, Le Havre and elsewhere in the Bay of Biscay from entering the English Channel. The Western Squadron was the forerunner of the Channel Squadron that was later known as the Channel Fleet. Influence on British naval policy, strategy and thinking In the seventeen hundreds, British Naval policy had not changed very much in previous centuries. With British trade interests growing, however, so were the problems posed by French Naval expansion since the 1660s-1670s, along with the need to resolve them. English War planners were constantly dealing with the threat of war with France but no strategy had been put in