George D. Bonnyman

George D. Bonnyman (?-?) was a British Navy officer, Captain of the brig Pantaloon when the ship was commissioned for a commercial exploratory trip to Cambodia and Siam in February-June 1851, and again in September-November of that year.

Little is known of him, except that he left notices on the port of Kampot and the Cambodian coast from Kampot to Chantabon. His surname was probably of Scottish origin, possibly derived from the Laird of Bonnymoon. 

Bonnyman was mentioned as the Captain of Pantaloon in the Strait Times on 18 July 1855, as reporting the wreck of American ship Lightfood on its way from Singapore to Calcutta. On 18 November 1854, he was also reported as arriving from Macao to Singapore at the helm of the Pantaloon. The same newspaper reported on 26 July 1848 that the ​“brig Pantaloon, Captain Lewis” was feared lost on its way to Calcutta. 

About brig Pantaloon: This unique 323‑t., 10-gun brig built at Troon as the Duke of Portland’s yacht, was immediately 0purchased by the Royal Navy and was active in the dhow chasing campaigns against West African slave trade, and against slaver fast ships bound to Brazil and Cuba (“Preventative Service”). 

Designed and adapted by Captain William Symonds RN as a fast armed ocean-going dispatch boat, the brig took part in the ​“Experimental Squadron” trials in 1844 – 6. Pantaloon is reported broken up (or decommissioned) in 1852 by various sources, however it was still sailing the Indian Ocean and China Sea in 1855, chartered by private traders.