George Byng (1764–1847)
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George Byng DL JP, of Wrotham Park in Middlesex, and of Wentworth House, 5, St James's Square, London, was a British Whig politician.
George Byng („Byng-Go" by Richard Dighton, 1820)
Wrotham Park in 1820
Left: Wentworth House, 5, St James's Square, London, townhouse built 1748-51 by William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (1722–1791) to the design of Matthew Brettingham The Elder
John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford
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Field Marshal John Byng, 1st Earl of Strafford was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and Irish Rebellion of 1798, he became Commanding Officer of the Grenadier Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards during the disastrous Walcheren Campaign. He served as a brigade commander at the Battle of Vitoria and then at the Battle of Roncesvalles on 25 July 1813 when his brigade took the brunt of the French assault and held its position for three hours in the early morning before finally being forced back.
Portrait of John Byng by William Salter, 1834–1840
The Battle of the Pyrenees: Byng's stubborn resistance at Roncesvalles allowed the Viscount Wellington (shown on horseback in the painting) to consolidate enough troops to defeat the French at the Battle of the Pyrenees