[1] Amherst joined the Royal Navy in 1730,[2] and after serving as midshipman and lieutenant in the Mediterranean Fleet under the command of Admirals Nicholas Haddock and Thomas Mathews, he was promoted to the rank of captain in December 1744.

[3] In 1746, during the First Carnatic War, Amherst was appointed commander of the 50-gun Preston,[4] and served as flag captain to Rear-Admiral Thomas Griffin, on board the Princess Mary in the East Indies.

[2] In 1753 he commissioned the 64-gun Mars which formed part of the fleet sent into North American waters under Vice-Admiral Edward Boscawen in 1755.

[2] On his return to England, was appointed to command the 50-gun Deptford, which sailed with Admiral John Byng to the Mediterranean in March 1756.

He was still holding this command, when he died suddenly at Gosport, on 14 February 1778, in his 59th year.