1.
Field marshal (United Kingdom)
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Field marshal has been the highest rank in the British Army since 1736. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10, it is equivalent to an admiral of the fleet in the Royal Navy or a marshal of the Royal Air Force in the Royal Air Force. A field marshals insignia consists of two crossed batons surrounded by yellow leaves below St Edwards Crown. As with marshals of the RAF and admirals of the fleet in their services, field marshals remain officers of the British Army for life. The rank has been used throughout its history and was vacant through parts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After the Second World War, it became practice to appoint the Chief of the Imperial General Staff to the rank on his last day in the post. Army officers occupying the post of Chief of the Defence Staff, in total,141 men have held the rank of field marshal. The majority led careers in the British Army or the British Indian Army, some members of the British Royal Family—most recently Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Charles, Prince of Wales—were promoted to the rank after shorter periods of service. Other ceremonial appointments were made as diplomatic gestures, twelve foreign monarchs held the honour, though three were stripped of it when their countries became enemies of Britain and her allies in the two world wars. Also awarded the rank were two distinguished foreign military officers, honoured for their contributions to World War I and World War II respectively, and one foreign statesman. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Defence in 1995 made a number of recommendations for financial savings in the forces budget. The recommendation was not taken up in full, but the convention of promoting service chiefs to five-star ranks was stopped, Sir Peter Inge was, in 1994, the last active officer to be promoted to the rank. Inge relinquished the post of Chief of the Defence Staff in 1997 and his successor, at the same time, Guthrie, who relinquished the post of CDS and retired from active service in 2001, was promoted to honorary field marshal. In June 2014 former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Walker of Aldringham was also promoted to field marshal. The rank insignia of a marshal in the British Army comprises two crossed batons in a wreath of oak leaves, with a crown above. On appointment, British field marshals are awarded a gold-tipped baton which they may carry on formal occasions, the vast majority of officers to hold the rank of field marshal were professional soldiers in the British Army, though eleven served as officers in the British Indian Army. At least fifty-seven field marshals were wounded in battle earlier in their careers, of whom 24 were wounded more than once, and eight had been prisoners of war. Fifteen future field marshals were present at the Battle of Vitoria, where the Duke of Wellington earned the rank, and ten others served under Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo
2.
George III of the United Kingdom
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He was concurrently Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of Britains American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence, further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In the later part of his life, George III had recurrent, although it has since been suggested that he had the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, on George IIIs death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. Historical analysis of George IIIs life has gone through a kaleidoscope of changing views that have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them. Until it was reassessed in the half of the 20th century, his reputation in the United States was one of a tyrant. George was born in London at Norfolk House and he was the grandson of King George II, and the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months prematurely and he was unlikely to survive, he was baptised the same day by Thomas Secker. One month later, he was baptised at Norfolk House. His godparents were the King of Sweden, his uncle the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, George grew into a healthy but reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York, Family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time, by the age of eight. He was the first British monarch to study science systematically and his religious education was wholly Anglican. At age 10 George took part in a production of Joseph Addisons play Cato and said in the new prologue, What. It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, historian Romney Sedgwick argued that these lines appear to be the source of the only historical phrase with which he is associated. Georges grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales, however, in 1751 the Prince of Wales died unexpectedly from a lung injury, and George became heir apparent to the throne. He inherited one of his fathers titles and became the Duke of Edinburgh, now more interested in his grandson, three weeks later the King created George Prince of Wales. Georges mother, now the Dowager Princess of Wales, preferred to keep George at home where she could imbue him with her moral values
3.
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
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William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, PC, FRS was a British statesman of the Whig group who led the government of Great Britain twice in the middle of the 18th century. Historians call him Pitt of Chatham, or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish from his son, William Pitt the Younger, Pitt was also known as The Great Commoner, because of his long-standing refusal to accept a title until 1766. Pitt was a member of the British cabinet and its leader from 1756 to 1761. He again led the ministry, holding the title of Lord Privy Seal. Much of his power came from his brilliant oratory, Peters argues his statesmanship was based on a clear, consistent, and distinct appreciation of the value of the Empire. The British parliamentary historian Peter D. G, Thomas argues that Pitts power was based not on his family connections but the extraordinary parliamentary skills by which he dominated the House of Commons. He displayed a commanding manner, brilliant rhetoric, and sharp debating skills that cleverly utilized broad literary and historical knowledge. Pitt was the grandson of Thomas Pitt, the governor of Madras, known as Diamond Pitt for having discovered and this transaction, as well as other trading deals in India, established the Pitt family fortune. He made further purchases and became one of the dominant political figures in the West Country controlling seats such as the rotten borough of Old Sarum. Williams father was Robert Pitt, the eldest son of Governor Pitt and his mother was Harriet Villiers, the daughter of Edward Villiers-FitzGerald and the Irish heiress Katherine FitzGerald. Both Williams paternal uncles Thomas and John were MPs, while his aunt Lucy married the leading Whig politician, William Pitt was born at Golden Square, Westminster, on 15 November 1708. His older brother Thomas Pitt had been born in 1704, there were also five sisters, Harriet, Catherine, Ann, Elizabeth, and Mary. From 1719 William was educated at Eton College along with his brother, William disliked Eton, later claiming that a public school might suit a boy of turbulent disposition but would not do where there was any gentleness. It was at school that Pitt began to suffer from gout, in 1726 Governor Pitt died, and the family estate at Boconnoc passed to Williams father. When he died the year, Boconnoc was inherited by Williams elder brother. In January 1727, William was entered as a commoner at Trinity College. There is evidence that he was a reader, if not a minutely accurate classical scholar. William diligently cultivated the faculty of expression by the practice of translation and re-translation, in these years he became a close friend of George Lyttelton, who would later become a leading politician
4.
Leader of the House of Commons
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The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons. This office does not attract a ministerial salary, and as such it is held jointly with another ministerial position. The Leader is assisted in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons by the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, at times the nominal leadership was held by the Prime Minister but the day-to-day work was done by a Deputy. At other times a Deputy was appointed merely to enhance an individual politicians standing within the government, however, since 2010 the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons has been a ministerial role at the level of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. The House of Commons devotes approximately three-quarters of its time to Government business, such as introduced by the government. The Leader of the House, with the chief whips, is responsible for organising Government business. The Leader of the House additionally announces the next weeks debate schedule in the Business Statement every Thursday, when there is either no Deputy Prime Minister or First Secretary of State, the Leader of the House may stand in for an absent Prime Minister at Prime Ministers Questions
5.
George Grenville
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George Grenville, PC was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into a political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an MP for Buckingham. He emerged as one of Cobhams Cubs, a group of members of Parliament associated with Lord Cobham. In 1754 Grenville became Treasurer of the Navy, a position he held twice until 1761, in October 1761 he chose to stay in government and accepted the new role of Leader of the Commons causing a rift with his brother-in-law and political ally William Pitt who had resigned. Grenville was subsequently made Northern Secretary and First Lord of the Admiralty by the new Prime Minister Lord Bute, on 8 April 1763, Lord Bute resigned, and Grenville assumed his position as Prime Minister. His government tried to bring public spending under control and pursued a foreign policy. His best known policy is the Stamp Act, a tax in Great Britain onto the colonies in America. Grenville had increasingly strained relations with his colleagues and the King and in 1765 he was dismissed by George III, for the last five years of his life Grenville led a group of his supporters in opposition and staged a public reconciliation with Pitt. George Grenville was born at Wotton House on 14 October 1712 and he was the second son of Richard Grenville and Hester Temple. He was one of five brothers, all of whom became MPs and his sister Hester Grenville married the leading political figure William Pitt. His elder brother was Richard Grenville, later the 2nd Earl Temple and it was intended by his parents that George Grenville should become a lawyer. Grenville received his education at Eton College and at Christ Church, Oxford and he entered Parliament in 1741 as one of the two members for Buckingham, and continued to represent that borough for the next twenty-nine years until his death. He was disappointed to be giving up what appeared to be a legal career for the uncertainties of opposition politics. In Parliament he subscribed to the Boy Patriot party, which opposed Sir Robert Walpole, in December 1744 he became a Lord of the Admiralty in the administration of Henry Pelham. He allied himself with his brother Richard and with William Pitt in forcing Pelham to give them promotion by rebelling against his authority, in June 1747, Grenville became a Lord of the Treasury. In 1754 Grenville was made Treasurer of the Navy and Privy Councillor, opposition to European entanglements was a cornerstone of Patriot Whig thinking. He and Pitt joined the opposition, haranguing the Newcastle government, Grenville and Pitt both championed the formation of a British militia to provide additional security rather than the deployment of Hessian mercenaries favoured by the government. As the military situation deteriorated following the loss of Minorca, the government grew increasingly weak until it was forced to resign in Autumn 1756, Pitt then formed a government led by the Duke of Devonshire
6.
Frederick North, Lord North
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Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, KG, PC, more often known by his courtesy title, Lord North, which he used from 1752 until 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American War of Independence and he also held a number of other cabinet posts, including Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Norths reputation among historians has swung back and forth and it reached its nadir in the late nineteenth century when he was depicted as a creature of the king and an incompetent who lost the American colonies. In the early twentieth century a revisionism emphasized his strengths in administering the Treasury, handling the House of Commons, Herbert Butterfield, however, argued that his indolence was a barrier to efficient crisis management, he neglected his role in supervising the entire war effort. Lord North was born in London on 13 April 1732, at the house at Albemarle Street, just off Piccadilly. His father, the first Earl, was at the time Lord of the Bedchamber to Prince Frederick, North was descended from the 1st Earl of Sandwich and was related to Samuel Pepys and the 3rd Earl of Bute. He at times had a turbulent relationship with his father Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford. In his early years the family was not wealthy, though their situation improved in 1735 when his father inherited property from his cousin, fredericks mother, Lady Lucy Montagu, died in 1734. His father remarried, but his stepmother, Elizabeth North, also died in 1745, one of his stepbrothers was Lord Dartmouth, who remained a close friend for life. He was educated at Eton College between 1742 and 1748, and at Trinity College, Oxford where in 1750 he was awarded an MA, after leaving Oxford he travelled in Europe on the Grand Tour with Dartmouth, visiting Leipzig where he studied at the University of Leipzig. He visited Vienna, Milan, and Paris, returning to England in 1753 and he soon developed a reputation as a good administrator and parliamentarian, and was generally liked by his colleagues. In November 1763 he was chosen to speak for the Government concerning radical MP John Wilkes, Wilkes had made a savage attack on both the Prime Minister and the King in his newspaper The North Briton, which many thought libelous. Norths motion that Wilkes be expelled from the House of Commons passed by 273 votes to 111, Wilkes expulsion took place in his absence, as he had already fled to France following a duel. When a government headed by the Whig magnate Lord Rockingham came to power in 1765, North left his post and he turned down an offer by Rockingham to rejoin the government, not wanting to be associated with the Whig grandees that dominated the Ministry. He returned to office when Pitt returned to head a government in 1766. North was appointed Joint Paymaster of the Forces in Pitts ministry, as Pitt was constantly ill, the government was effectively run by the Duke of Grafton, with North as one of its most senior members. In December 1767, he succeeded Charles Townshend as Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the resignation of the secretary of state Henry Seymour Conway in early 1768, North became Leader of the Commons as well. He continued to serve when Pitt was succeeded by Grafton in October, when the Duke of Grafton resigned as Prime Minister, North formed a government on 28 January 1770
7.
George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax
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George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, KG PC was a British statesman of the Georgian era. Due to his success in extending American commerce he became known as father of the colonies, President of the Board of Trade 1748–61, he aided the foundation of Nova Scotia,1749, the capital Halifax being named after him. The son of the 1st Earl of Halifax, he was styled Viscount Sunbury until succeeding his father as 2nd Earl of Halifax in 1739. Educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was married in 1741 to Anne Richards, who had inherited a great fortune from Sir Thomas Dunk, whose name Halifax took. After having been an official in the household of Frederick, Prince of Wales, Lord Halifax was made Master of the Buckhounds, and in 1748 he became President of the Board of Trade. While filling this position he helped to found Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, which was named after him, about this time he attempted, unsuccessfully, to become a Secretary of State, but was only allowed to enter the Cabinet in 1757. In March 1761, Halifax was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in 1762, in search of evidence of sedition, he authorised a raid on the home of John Entick, declared unlawful in the case of Entick v. Carrington. He was also responsible for the exclusion of the name of the Kings mother, Augusta, Princess of Wales. Together with his colleagues, Lord Halifax left office in July 1765, returning to the Cabinet as Lord Privy Seal under his nephew, Lord North and he had just been restored to his former position of Secretary of State when he died. Like his friends John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford and John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, the earliest surviving record of his involvement in the sport comes from 1741 when he led Northamptonshire in a match against Buckinghamshire at Cow Meadow in Northampton. In the same season, Sandwich and Halifax formed the Northamptonshire & Huntingdonshire team which twice defeated Bedfordshire, first at Woburn Park and he left no children, and his titles became extinct on his death. Lord Orford speaks slightingly of Halifax, and says he and his mistress, Halifax was buried in the church of St Mary Magdalene in Horton, Northamptonshire. There is a bust and memorial to him in the transept of Westminster Abbey. There is an obelisk at Chicksands Wood, near Haynes, Bedfordshire, Halifax served as a political patron of the playwright and civil servant Richard Cumberland. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Halifax, George Montagu Dunk. From Commons to Lords, Volume One,1700 to 1750, beaumont, Colonial America and the Earl of Halifax, 1748-1761. Oxford, England, Oxford University Press,2015, media related to George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax at Wikimedia Commons
8.
George II of Great Britain
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George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain, he was born, after the deaths of Sophia and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714, his father George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne. In the first years of his fathers reign as king, George was associated with opposition politicians, as king from 1727, George exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by the Parliament of Great Britain. As elector, he spent twelve summers in Hanover, where he had direct control over government policy. He had a relationship with his eldest son, Frederick. During the War of the Austrian Succession, George participated at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, nine years before his father, and so George II was ultimately succeeded by his grandson, George III. For two centuries after George IIs death, history tended to him with disdain, concentrating on his mistresses, short temper. Since then, most scholars have reassessed his legacy and conclude that he held and exercised influence in foreign policy and military appointments. George was born in the city of Hanover in Germany, and was the son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, both of Georges parents committed adultery, and in 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned her husband. She was confined to Ahlden House and denied access to her two children, George and his sister Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, who never saw their mother again. George spoke only French, the language of diplomacy and the court, until the age of four, after which he was taught German by one of his tutors, Johann Hilmar Holstein. In addition to French and German, he was schooled in English and Italian. Georges second cousin once removed, Queen Anne, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1702, consequently, after his grandmother and father, George was third in line to succeed Anne in two of her three realms. England and Scotland united in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, Georges father did not want his son to enter into a loveless arranged marriage as he had, and wanted him to have the opportunity of meeting his bride before any formal arrangements were made. Negotiations from 1702 for the hand of Princess Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, Dowager Duchess and regent of Holstein-Gottorp, the English envoy to Hanover, Edmund Poley, reported that George was so taken by the good character he had of her that he would not think of anybody else. A marriage contract was concluded by the end of July, on 22 August /2 September 1705O. S. /N. S. Caroline arrived in Hanover for her wedding, which was held the evening in the chapel at Herrenhausen. George was keen to participate in the war against France in Flanders, in early 1707, Georges hopes were fulfilled when Caroline gave birth to a son, Frederick
9.
Chelsea, London
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Chelsea is an affluent area in West London, bounded to the south by the River Thames. Its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above Sloane Square tube station. The modern eastern boundary is Chelsea Bridge Road and the half of Sloane Street. To the north and northwest, the area fades into Knightsbridge and Brompton, the football club Chelsea F. C. is based at Stamford Bridge in neighbouring Fulham. From 1900, and until the creation of Greater London in 1965, the exclusivity of Chelsea as a result of its high property prices has historically resulted in the term Sloane Ranger being used to describe its residents. Since 2011, Channel 4 has broadcast a reality show called Made in Chelsea. Moreover, Chelsea is home to one of the largest communities of Americans living outside the United States, the word Chelsea originates from the Old English term for landing place for chalk or limestone. Abbot Gervace subsequently assigned the manor to his mother, and it passed into private ownership, the modern-day Chelsea hosted the Synod of Chelsea in 787 AD. King Henry VIII acquired the manor of Chelsea from Lord Sandys in 1536, in 1609 James I established a theological college, King Jamess College at Chelsey on the site of the future Chelsea Royal Hospital, which Charles II founded in 1682. By 1694, Chelsea – always a popular location for the wealthy, Kings Road, named for Charles II, recalls the Kings private road from St Jamess Palace to Fulham, which was maintained until the reign of George IV. One of the important buildings in Kings Road, the former Chelsea Town Hall. Part of the building contains the Chelsea Public Library and this is no longer the case, although housing trusts and Council property do remain. The areas to the west also attract very high prices and this former fashionable village was absorbed into London during the eighteenth century. Many notable people of 18th century London, such as the bookseller Andrew Millar, were married and buried in the district. The memorials in the churchyard of Chelsea Old Church, near the river and these include Lord and Lady Dacre, Lady Jane Cheyne, Francis Thomas, director of the china porcelain manufactory, Sir Hans Sloane, Thomas Shadwell, Poet Laureate. Sir Thomas Mores tomb can also be found there, in 1718, the Raw Silk Company was established in Chelsea Park, with mulberry trees and a hothouse for raising silkworms. At its height in 1723, it supplied silk to Caroline of Ansbach, Chelsea once had a reputation for the manufacture of Chelsea buns, made from a long strip of sweet dough tightly coiled, with currants trapped between the layers, and topped with sugar. The Chelsea Bun House sold these during the 18th century and was patronised by the Georgian royalty, at Easter, great crowds would assemble on the open spaces of the Five Fields – subsequently developed as Belgravia
10.
Middlesex
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Middlesex is a historic county in south-east England. It is now entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and its area is now also mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in other neighbouring ceremonial counties. It was established in the Anglo-Saxon system from the territory of the Middle Saxons, the largely low-lying county, dominated by clay in its north and alluvium on gravel in its south, was the second smallest county by area in 1831. The City of London was a county in its own right from the 12th century and was able to exert control over Middlesex. Westminster Abbey dominated most of the financial, judicial and ecclesiastical aspects of the county. As London grew into Middlesex, the Corporation of London resisted attempts to expand the city boundaries into the county, in the 18th and 19th centuries the population density was especially high in the southeast of the county, including the East End and West End of London. From 1855 the southeast was administered, with sections of Kent and Surrey, the City of London, and Middlesex, became separate counties for other purposes and Middlesex regained the right to appoint its own sheriff, lost in 1199. In the interwar years suburban London expanded further, with improvement and expansion of public transport, after the Second World War, the population of the County of London and inner Middlesex was in steady decline, with high population growth continuing in the outer parts. Since 1965 various areas called Middlesex have been used for cricket, Middlesex was the former postal county of 25 post towns. The name means territory of the middle Saxons and refers to the origin of its inhabitants. The word is formed from the Anglo-Saxon, i. e. Old English, middel, in an 8th-century charter the region is recorded as Middleseaxon and in 704 it is recorded as Middleseaxan. The Saxons derived their name from seax, a kind of knife for which they were known, the seax has a lasting symbolic impact in the English counties of Essex and Middlesex, both of which feature three seaxes in their ceremonial emblem. Their names, along with those of Sussex and Wessex, contain a remnant of the word Saxon, there were settlements in the area of Middlesex that can be traced back thousands of years before the creation of a county. Middlesex was formerly part of the Kingdom of Essex It was recorded in the Domesday Book as being divided into the six hundreds of Edmonton, Elthorne, Gore, Hounslow, Ossulstone and Spelthorne. The City of London has been self-governing since the century and became a county in its own right. Middlesex also included Westminster, which also had a degree of autonomy. Of the six hundreds, Ossulstone contained the districts closest to the City of London, during the 17th century it was divided into four divisions, which, along with the Liberty of Westminster, largely took over the administrative functions of the hundred. The divisions were named Finsbury, Holborn, Kensington and Tower, the county had parliamentary representation from the 13th century
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Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1887). "Conway, Henry Seymour". Dictionary of National Biography. 12. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
