Lord George Graham was born on 26 September 1715, the son of James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose, and his wife Christian, the daughter of David Carnegie, 3rd Earl of Northesk. He entered the navy at an early age and served at first as a midshipman from 1730, and was promoted to lieutenant in 1734. He was given a command in 1739, when he was appointed to the fireship HMS Mercury and sent out to the Mediterranean to join Sir Nicholas Haddock's fleet. He held the command until 15 March 1740, when he was promoted to captain. He was appointed to command the 40-gun HMS Lark in 1741 with orders to escort a convoy of merchants bound for Turkey. He does not appear to have held the command long, for by late 1741 Lark was under the command of Captain Rupert Waring, escorting a convoy to the West Indies.
