He was known for wearing coats made of grogram cloth, earning him the nickname of "Old Grog", which in turn came to mean the diluted rum that he first introduced into his naval squadron.

Edward had one other sibling, James who became British envoy to Denmark and served as a member of parliament and Clerk of the Privy Council.

Vernon briefly attended Westminster School, then joined the Royal Navy on 10 May 1700 as a Volunteer per order on board HMS Shrewsbury.

Vernon captured Portobelo, Panama, a Spanish colonial possession, as a result of which he was granted the Freedom of the City of London.

As disease spread among the British troops, delaying tactics by the Spaniards and a failed assault on the last fortification defending the city led a council of war to decide to abandon the siege and withdraw to Jamaica.

After a further year and a half ineffectually campaigning in the Caribbean, Vernon was recalled back to England to find he had been elected MP for Ipswich.

[5] Vernon's action was seen by the "Patriots", or pro-war party opposed to Robert Walpole, as just vengeance for Admiral Hosier's disastrous blockade of Porto Bello during 1726–1728, where with a greater force of 20 ships, and Portobelo inadequately defended, government orders forbade him from firing a shot, leaving him and some 4,000 sailors to linger ineffectually off the shore and to die of tropical disease.

He then charges him to let Hosier's wrongs prevail when he returns to England, upon which he and his fellow ghosts can finally rest, their reputations restored.

The first half of verse 7 is thus: For resistance I could fear none But with twenty ships had done What thou brave and happy Vernon Hast atchiev'd with six alone.

After taking some of the city's defences, the British assault on the castle San Felipe de Barajas, the last important bastion defending it, failed on April 20; with a large part of the troops ill, heavy casualties suffered in the fighting and the arrival of the rainy season, the British opted to destroy the defences within their reach and abandon the siege.

He arrived with a force of eight warships and 4,000 soldiers with plans to march on Santiago de Cuba, but finally abandoned the half-hearted attempt in December after sickness broke out again.

In 1745, Vernon was promoted to admiral and appointed to command the North Sea Fleet in response to the threat from the French forces in support of Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie").

As a result, the Admiralty brought the matter to King George II who advised to have his name removed from the navy flag list.

[9] Vernon continued to serve in Parliament and remained active in the interest of naval affairs until his death at Nacton on 30 October 1757.

Scurvy is not mentioned in Vernon's order, in which he instructed his captains to dilute the sailors' daily allowance of rum with water, "which those that are good husbandmen may from the saving of their salt provisions and bread, purchase sugar and limes to make more palatable to them.

"][13] Scurvy, a disease of long ocean voyages—not of squadrons operating among islands where there was an abundance of fruits and fresh foodstuffs—was seen by the medical establishment (incorrectly) as the consequence of poor digestion and internal putrefaction.

[14] Until an official daily issue of lemon juice was introduced into the Royal Navy in 1795, scurvy continued to be a debilitating disease which destroyed men and disabled ships and whole fleets.

In 1795, in defiance of medical opinion, the Admiralty and the admirals introduced lemon juice and sugar as a regular part of the naval diet.