1.
William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst
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William Pitt Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, GCH, PC was a British diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Governor-General of India between 1823 and 1828, born at Bath, Somerset, Amherst was the son of William Amherst and Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Paterson. He was the grand-nephew of Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst and he was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. In 1816 he was sent as ambassador extraordinary to the court of Chinas Qing dynasty, in consequence of this, he was not allowed to enter Peking, and the object of his mission was frustrated. His ship, the Alceste, after a cruise along the coast of Korea, Amherst and part of his shipwrecked companions escaped in the ships boats to Batavia, whence relief was sent to the rest. The ship in which he returned to England in 1817 touched at St Helena and, as a consequence, during one of the interviews, Napoleon was attributed of saying China is a sleeping giant. For when she wakes, she will shake the world, Amherst was Governor-General of India from August 1823 to February 1828. The principal events of his government were annexation of Assam leading to the first Burmese war of 1824, resulting in the cession of Arakan and his appointment came on the heels of the removal of Governor-General Lord Hastings in 1823. Hastings clashed with London over the issue of lowering the field pay of officers in the Bengal Army, a measure that he was able to avoid through successive wars against Nepal and the Marathas. However, his refusal in the early 1820s during peacetime to lower field pay resulted in the appointment of Amherst, who was expected to carry out the demands from London. However, Amherst was a governor who was, at least in the early days of his tenure in Calcutta. The war was to two years, with 15,000 killed on the British side and cost 13 million pounds. It was only due to the efforts of friends such as George Canning. The war significantly changed Amhersts stance on Burma, now adamantly refusing to annexe Lower Burma, but did not repair his reputation entirely and he was created Earl Amherst, of Arracan in the East Indies, and Viscount Holmesdale, in the County of Kent, in 1826. On his return to England he lived in retirement till his death in March 1857, Lord Amhersts first wife was Sarah, Dowager Countess of Plymouth, daughter of Andrew Archer, 2nd Baron Archer and widow of Other Windsor, 5th Earl of Plymouth. He married his first wife in 1800, after Sarahs death in May 1838, Lord Amherst, aged 75, married his second wife, who was his first wifes widowed daughter-in-law. Although this was a marriage, it was not forbidden by Church law nor civil law. His second wife had no children by either marriage, mary, Dowager Countess of Plymouth elder daughter and co-heiress of John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset, and widow of his stepson Other Windsor, 6th Earl of Plymouth, in 1839
2.
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
3.
Order of the Bath
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The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for appointing a knight. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath, George I erected the Knights of the Bath into a regular Military Order. Prior to 1815, the order had only a class, Knight Companion. Recipients of the Order are now usually senior officers or senior civil servants. Commonwealth citizens who are not subjects of the Queen and foreign nationals may be made Honorary Members, in the Middle Ages, knighthood was often conferred with elaborate ceremonies. These usually involved the taking a bath during which he was instructed in the duties of knighthood by more senior knights. He was then put to bed to dry, clothed in a special robe, he was led with music to the chapel where he spent the night in a vigil. At dawn he made confession and attended Mass, then retired to his bed to sleep until it was fully daylight, in the early medieval period the difference seems to have been that the full ceremonies were used for men from more prominent families. Knights Bachelor continued to be created with the form of ceremony. The last occasion on which Knights of the Bath were created was the coronation of Charles II in 1661. From at least 1625, and possibly from the reign of James I, Knights of the Bath were using the motto Tria iuncta in uno, and wearing as a badge three crowns within a plain gold oval. These were both adopted by the Order of the Bath, a similar design of badge is still worn by members of the Civil Division. Their symbolism however is not entirely clear, the three joined in one may be a reference to the kingdoms of England, Scotland and either France or Ireland, which were held by English and, later, British monarchs. This would correspond to the three crowns in the badge, another explanation of the motto is that it refers to the Holy Trinity. The prime mover in the establishment of the Order of the Bath was John Anstis, Garter King of Arms, the Court remained the centre of the political world. The King was limited in that he had to choose Ministers who could command a majority in Parliament, the leader of an administration still had to command the Kings personal confidence and approval. A strong following in Parliament depended on being able to supply places, pensions, the attraction of the new Order for Walpole was that it would provide a source of such favours to strengthen his political position
4.
Joshua Reynolds
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Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential eighteenth-century English painter, specialising in portraits. He promoted the Grand Style in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect and he was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, and was knighted by George III in 1769. Reynolds was born in Plympton, Devon, on 16 July 1723 the third son of the Rev. Samuel Reynolds and his father had been a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, but did not send any of his sons to the university. One of his sisters was Mary Palmer, seven years his senior, author of Devonshire Dialogue, in 1740 she provided £60, half of the premium paid to Thomas Hudson the portrait-painter, for Joshuas pupilage, and nine years later advanced money for his expenses in Italy. His other siblings included Frances Reynolds and Elizabeth Johnson, as a boy, he came under the influence of Zachariah Mudge, whose Platonistic philosophy stayed with him all his life. The work that came to have the most influential impact on Reynolds was Jonathan Richardsons An Essay on the Theory of Painting, having shown an early interest in art, Reynolds was apprenticed in 1740 to the fashionable London portrait painter Thomas Hudson, who had been born in Devon. Hudson had a collection of old master drawings, including some by Guercino, although apprenticed to Hudson for four years, Reynolds only remained with him until summer 1743. Having left Hudson, Reynolds worked for some time as a portrait-painter in Plymouth Dock and he returned to London before the end of 1744, but following his fathers death in late 1745 he shared a house in Plymouth Dock with his sisters. In 1749, Reynolds met Commodore Augustus Keppel, who invited him to join HMS Centurion, of which he had command, while with the ship he visited Lisbon, Cadiz, Algiers, and Minorca. From Minorca he travelled to Livorno in Italy, and then to Rome, while in Rome he suffered a severe cold, which left him partially deaf, and, as a result, he began to carry a small ear trumpet with which he is often pictured. Reynolds travelled homeward overland via Florence, Bologna, Venice, and he was accompanied by Giuseppe Marchi, then aged about 17. Apart from a brief interlude in 1770, Marchi remained in Reynolds employment as an assistant for the rest of the artists career. Following his arrival in England in October 1752, Reynolds spent three months in Devon, before establishing himself in London, where he remained for the rest of his life. He took rooms in St Martins Lane, before moving to Great Newport Street and he achieved success rapidly, and was extremely prolific. In 1760 Reynolds moved into a house, with space to show his works and accommodate his assistants. Alongside ambitious full-length portraits, Reynolds painted large numbers of smaller works, in the late 1750s, at the height of the social season, he received five or six sitters a day, each for an hour. By 1761 Reynolds could command a fee of 80 guineas for a full-length portrait, the clothing of Reynolds sitters was usually painted either by one of his pupils, his studio assistant Giuseppe Marchi, or the specialist drapery painter Peter Toms. Lay figures were used to model the clothes and he had an excellent vantage from his house, Wick House, on Richmond Hill, and painted the view in about 1780
5.
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
6.
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
7.
John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
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General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun was a British nobleman and army officer. Born in Scotland 2 years before the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Campbell inherited the peerage on the death of his father in 1731, becoming Lord Loudoun. The earl raised a regiment of infantry that took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 on the side of the Hanoverian government, the regiment consisted of twelve companies, with Loudoun as colonel and John Campbell as lieutenant colonel. The regiment was raised and served in different parts of Scotland. Eight companies, under the command of Lord Loudoun, were stationed in Inverness. Loudoun set out in February 1746 with this portion of his regiment and several of the Independent Companies in an attempt to capture the Jacobite pretender, the expedition was ignominiously defeated by a small number of Jacobites in what became known as the Rout of Moy. After this debacle, Loudoun fell back to join the Duke of Cumberlands army, in 1756, Loudoun was sent to North America as Commander-in-Chief and Governor General of Virginia, where he was unpopular with many of the colonial leaders. When he learned that some merchants were trading with the French, while he was trying to fight a war against them. Despite his unpopularity the county of Loudoun, formed from Fairfax in 1757, was named in his honour, while Loudoun was thus engaged in Canada, French forces captured Fort William Henry from the British, and Loudoun was replaced by James Abercrombie and returned to London. Francis Parkman, a 19th-century historian of the Seven Years War, many historians debate whether he played a fundamental part in the Seven Years War. Arguably, he was a figure as he embarked on reforms for the army such as replacing the ordinary musket with the flintlock musket for greater accuracy. He made improvements by embarking on an improvement programme, recognising the need to supply the army as he replaced the traditional supply line with army wagons. His focus was centralising the system of supplies and had built storehouses in Halifax and Albany, in 1762, he was sent to Portugal to counter the Spanish invasion of Portugal as second-in-command, and he became overall commander in 1763. Despite being unable to prevent the loss of Almeida, the British forces soon launched a counter-attack that drove the back across the border. Back in Great Britain, in 1763 Loudoun was made Governor of Edinburgh Castle, in 1770 he was promoted to full general. On 23 January 1773, the town of Loudon, New Hampshire was incorporated and named in Campbells honor, Campbell remained a bachelor, and on his death in 1782 was succeeded as earl by his cousin, James Mure-Campbell. Loudoun Fort Loudoun Loudonville, New York Loudon, New Hampshire Loudoun County, Virginia John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun at wetpaint. com
8.
Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt
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Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt, was a courtier, member of parliament, and royal governor of the colony of Virginia from 1768 until his death in 1770. Norborne Berkeley was born about 1717, in 1726, Berkeley was admitted to Westminster School. His political career began in 1741 when he was elected to the House of Commons as a knight of the shire for Gloucestershire, a seat he held until 1763. He thus took a seat in the House of Lords as the 4th Baron de Botetourt and he died in Williamsburg on 15 October 1770, after an illness lasting several weeks. Botetourt never married and left no direct heirs, a statue of Botetourt was placed in the Capitol in Williamsburg in 1773. In 1801 the statue of Botetourt was acquired by the College of William and Mary, Botetourt County, Virginia, was named in Botetourts honour. Lord Botetourt High School in the town of Daleville in Botetourt County, Virginia, is also named for him, as is the Botetourt Dorm Complex at The College of William. Two statues also adorn the campus of The College of William, gloucester County, Virginia has an elementary school named for governor. Both Richmond, Virginia and Norfolk, Virginia have streets named in his honour, taylor Stoermers Will the Real Lord Botetourt Please Stand. in the Journal of the American Revolution Norborne Berkeley at Encyclopedia Virginia
9.
James Murray (British Army officer, born 1721)
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His term in Quebec was notably successful, and marked with excellent relationships with the conquered French-Canadians, who were reassured of their traditional rights and customs. He was a son of Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank. His brother was Alexander Murray who served in Nova Scotia, educated in Haddington and Selkirk, he began his military career in 1736 in the 3rd Scots Regiment in Dutch service. In 1740 he served as a lieutenant in Wynyard’s Marines, under his brother Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank. He returned as a captain in 1742, in December 1748, he married Cordelia Collier, of Hastings. James Murray purchased his majority in the 15th Regiment of Foot in 1749, and he commanded his regiment in the Raid on Rochefort,1757, defending Sir John Mordaunt in his subsequent court-martial. He commanded a battalion in the 1758 Siege of Louisbourg along with his brother Alexander, when Louisbourg was taken, Murray accompanied General Wolfe on a raiding expedition northwards in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign. While Wolfe destroyed French settlements along the Gaspe Peninsula, Murray harried the French fishing settlements along Miramichi Bay, part of the destruction included the homes and church at St. Annes, now called Burnt Church. Murray served under General James Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, Murray believed Wolfes plan to land the army at Anse au Foulon was foolish and absurd, and succeeded only by Providence. He was the commander of Quebec City after it fell to the British. Lévis managed to defeat Murray and the British in the Battle of Sainte-Foy in 1760, but he had to abandon the siege of Quebec due to a lack of supplies and he encouraged his favourite nephew Patrick Ferguson to follow him in a military career. Patrick was the son of Murrays sister Anne who was married to Lord Pitfour and he also assisted another nephew, Patrick Murray, illegitimate son of his brother, George. On 5 September 1760, Murray signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Huron Nation, then residing at Lorette, in 1990, that treaty was found by the Supreme Court of Canada to still be valid and binding on the Crown. In October 1760, he became governor of the district of Quebec. He was promoted Major-General on 26 March 1765, as governor he was sympathetic to the French-Canadians, favouring them over British merchants who came to settle in the wake of the conquest. He allowed the continuance of French civil law because at the time the French outnumbered the British 25,1, the dissatisfaction of British settlers led to his recall in 1766, but his precedents were preserved in the Quebec Act of 1774. Formerly the property of General Murray, Murray was lieutenant-governor from 1774 to 1776 and then governor of Minorca from 1776 to 1782. In 1780, he married, as his wife, Ann Witham
10.
Sevenoaks
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Sevenoaks is a town and civil parish with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London in western Kent, England. The population of the parish had reduced to 20,409 at the 2011 Census and it is served by a commuter main line railway and is 21 miles from London Charing Cross. It is the town of the Sevenoaks district, followed by Swanley. A settlement was recorded in the 13th century, when a market was established, construction of Knole House in the 15th century helped develop the village. Sevenoaks became part of the communications network when one of the early turnpikes was opened in the 18th century. In the 21st century, it has a large commuting population, located to the south-east of the town is Knole Park, within which lies Knole House. Educational establishments in the include the independent Sevenoaks School and Knole Academy. The towns name is derived from the Old English word Seouenaca, there are few records earlier than the 13th century for the town, when it was given market status. The weekly cattle market was held in Hitchen Hatch Lane until 1999 and it was closed to make way for the 160 BT building in London Road. A food market is held in the centre of town every Saturday, in the Middle Ages two hospitals were provided by religious orders for the care of old or sick people, especially those going on pilgrimage. Sevenoaks School, at the end of High Street, is one of the oldest lay foundations in England. It was founded by William Sevenoke in 1432, Sevenoke, a foundling, had been brought up in the town. In later life he became a merchant and served as alderman, sheriff, founding the school and adjacent almshouses was his thanks to the town. In 1560 the school was granted letters patent by Queen Elizabeth I and it was for the education of boys and youths in grammar and learning. In 1456 Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, purchased the Knole estate, the eponymous oak trees in Knole Park have been replaced several times over the centuries. In 1902 seven oaks were planted on the side of The Vine cricket ground to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII. During the Great Storm of 1987, six of those trees were blown down, the trees have been replaced and eight Oak trees of varying ages line The Vine. A serious railway accident occurred nearby on 24 August 1927, Southern Railway K class passenger tank engine No
11.
Kent
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Kent /ˈkɛnt/ is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south west, the county also shares borders with Essex via the Dartford Crossing and the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. France can be clearly in fine weather from Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover. Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of the county, because of its relative abundance of fruit-growing and hop gardens, Kent is known as The Garden of England. The title was defended in 2006 when a survey of counties by the UKTV Style Gardens channel put Kent in fifth place, behind North Yorkshire, Devon. Haulage, logistics, and tourism are industries, major industries in north-west Kent include aggregate building materials, printing. Coal mining has played its part in Kents industrial heritage. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt and its transport connections to the capital. Twenty-eight per cent of the county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Downs and The High Weald, the area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic era, as attested by finds from the quarries at Swanscombe. The Medway megaliths were built during the Neolithic era, There is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley. The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning rim or border and this describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar had described the area as Cantium, or home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC, the extreme west of the modern county was by the time of Roman Britain occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the Regnenses. East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes during the 5th century and was known as Cantia from about 730, the early medieval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara, or Kent people. These people regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital, in 597, Pope Gregory I appointed the religious missionary as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity, the Diocese of Canterbury became Britains first Episcopal See with first cathedral and has since remained Englands centre of Christianity. The second designated English cathedral was in Kent at Rochester Cathedral, in the 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta, meaning undefeated. This naming followed the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy, the Kent peoples continued resistance against the Normans led to Kents designation as a semi-autonomous county palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of Williams half-brother Odo of Bayeux, the county was granted powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales
12.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
13.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
14.
East Yorkshire Regiment
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The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Cliftons Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the West Yorkshire Regiment to form the Prince of Waless Own Regiment of Yorkshire in 1958. Subsequently, the regiment amalgamated with the Green Howards and the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment to form the Yorkshire Regiment on 6 June 2006. Raised in 1685 in Nottingham by Sir William Clifton, 3rd Baronet and it took part in the Battle of Killiecrankie in July 1689 and the Battle of Cromdale in April 1690 during the Jacobite rising of 1689 to 1692. It went on to fight at the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706, the Battle of Oudenarde in July 1708 and it returned to England in 1714. It was sent to Scotland and took part in the Battle of Glen Shiel in June 1719 during Jacobite rising, the regiment was deployed to South America where it took part in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741 during the War of Jenkins Ear. It also saw action at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746 during the next Jacobite rising, in 1751, when the numerical system of designation of Regiments of Foot was adopted, it became the 15th Regiment of Foot. The regiment went on to part in the capture of Île-dAix in 1757 and, having sailed for North America in 1758. In 1782 the regiment became the 15th Regiment of Foot, the regiment was sent to North America again in spring 1776 for service in the American Revolutionary War. It saw action at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 and it also took part in the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, the Battle of Germantown in October 1777 and the Battle of White Marsh in December 1777. The regiment was deployed to the West Indies in 1795 for service in the French Revolutionary Wars and fought at attacks on Martinique and Guadeloupe before returning to England in 1796. The regiment returned to the West Indies in 1805 for service in the Napoleonic Wars and took part in the invasion of Martinique in January 1809, the regiment spent most of the 19th century on garrison duty, both at home and throughout the Empire. The 1st Battalion was shipped to New Brunswick in 1862 at the time of the Trent Affair, when Britain, under the reforms the regiment became The East Yorkshire Regiment on 1 July 1881. The 2nd Battalion fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War and the Second Boer War, the 1st Battalion landed at Saint-Nazaire as part of the 18th Brigade in the 6th Division in September 1914 for service on the Western Front. The 1/4th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the York, the 7th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of 50th Brigade in the 17th Division in July 1915 also for service on the Western Front. The 8th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 62nd Brigade in the 21st Division in September 1915 also for service on the Western Front, the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th Battalions were raised in September 1914 from men volunteering in Hull. These units were additionally entitled 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th City of Hull battalions and they landed in Egypt as part of the 92nd Brigade in the 31st Division in December 1915 and then moved to France in March 1916 also for service on the Western Front. In 1935 the regiment was renamed The East Yorkshire Regiment, after its Colonel-in-Chief, in the Second World War, six hostilities-only battalions were raised
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King's Royal Rifle Corps
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Later, ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire. The KRRC became the 2nd Battalion Royal Green Jackets, on the disbandment of 1/RGJ in 1992, the RGJs KRRC battalion was redesignated as 1/RGJ, eventually becoming 2/RIFLES in 2007. The Kings Royal Rifle Corps was raised in the American colonies in 1756 as the 62nd Regiment to defend the thirteen colonies against attack by the French and their Native American allies. After Braddocks defeat in 1755, royal approval for a new regiment, as well as funds, were granted by parliament just before Christmas 1755 – hence the regiments traditional birthday of Christmas Day. However, parliamentary delays meant that it was 4 March 1756 before an act of parliament created four battalions of 1,000 men each to include foreigners for service in the Americas. ”The Earl of Loudoun. About fifty officers’ commissions were given to Germans and Swiss, according to a modern history of the regiment, the idea for creating this unique force was proposed by Jacques Prevost, a Swiss soldier and adventurer who was a friend of the Duke of Cumberland. Prevost recognised the need for soldiers who understood forest warfare, unlike the regulars who were brought to America in 1755 by General Edward Braddock, the regiment was intended to combine the characteristics of a colonial corps with those of a foreign legion. Swiss and German forest fighting experts, American colonists and British volunteers from other British regiments were recruited and these men were Protestants, an important consideration for fighting against the predominantly Catholic French. The officers were recruited from Europe – not from the American colonies – and consisted of English, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Swiss. It was the first time officers were commissioned as British Army officers. In total, the regiment consisted of 101 officers,240 non-commissioned officers and 4,160 enlisted men, the battalions were raised on Governors Island, New York. The regiment was renumbered the 60th Regiment in February 1757 when the 50th and these were conventional battles on the European model, but fighting during Pontiacs War in 1763 was of a very different character. The frontier war threatened the British control of North America, the new regiment at first lost several outlying garrisons, but finally proved its mastery of forest warfare under Bouquets leadership at the victory of Bushy Run in August 1763. Two additional battalions of the regiment were raised in North America in 1775 for service in the American Revolutionary War and these battalions were deployed to Georgia and were involved in skirmishes at Sudbury in January 1779, at Savannah in October 1779 and at Augusta in September 1780. They went on to part in the Battle of Guilford Court House in March 1781. During the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment saw action in the Peninsular War, the mixing of rifle troops and muskets proved so effective that eventually line battalion light companies were replaced with rifle companies. The line battalions found themselves in different theatres, including the West Indies. The rifle battalion was joined by a second, and these found themselves in the Peninsula with Wellingtons army, serving along with the 95th Rifles
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Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
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The Buffs, formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and was one of the oldest regiments in the British Army, the regiment provided distinguished service over a period of almost four hundred years accumulating one hundred and sixteen battle honours. In 1881, under the Childers Reforms, it was known as the Buffs and later and this regiment was, in turn, amalgamated with the Royal Hampshire Regiment, in September 1992, to create the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment. The origins of the regiment lay in Thomas Morgans Company of Foot, The London Trained Bands and it fought in the Low Countries during the Dutch Revolt and in the Anglo Spanish War, taking part in many sieges and battles in that time. In 1665, when the Second Anglo-Dutch War started, the British, using his own funds, Sir George Downing, the English ambassador to the Netherlands, raised the Holland Regiment from the starving remnants of those who refused to sign. In 1665, it was known as the 4th Regiment and by 1668 as the 4th Regiment, in 1688, it became the 4th The Lord High Admirals Regiment and in 1689 it became the 3rd Regiment of Foot. The regiment wore coats with buff facings, whereas the 19th Regiment used coats faced in green, the nickname, The Old Buffs, arises from the need to distinguish the regiment from The Young Buffs, a nickname for the 31st Regiment of Foot. The regiment also fought at the Battle of Malplaquet in September 1709 before returning to England in August 1714. The regiment was sent to Ostend in August 1742 for service in the War of the Austrian Succession and fought at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743 and at the Battle of Fontenoy in May 1745. The regiment was named, as regiments, after the Colonel Commanding until 1744, at which point it became the 3rd Regiment of Foot. It returned to the Netherlands in April 1747 and saw action at the Battle of Lauffeld in July 1747 and it became the 3rd Regiment of Foot, The Buffs in 1751. The regiment embarked for the West Indies in autumn 1758 for service in the Seven Years War and took part in the attack on Martinique in January 1759, after returning home, it took part in the capture of Belle Île in June 1761. It then moved to Portugal and fought at the Battle of Valencia de Alcántara in August 1762 before returning to England in spring 1771, the regiment was sent to the West Indies in December 1795 for service in the French Revolutionary Wars. The regiment embarked for Portugal in August 1808 for service in the Peninsular War, the grenadier company of the regiment served under Sir John Moore at the Battle of Corunna in January 1809 before being evacuated to England later that month. The rest of the regiment remained on the Peninsula and fought at the Battle of Talavera in July 1809 and it then saw action at Battle of Albuera in May 1811 and the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813. It became part of the Army of Occupation of France in 1816 before returning home in autumn 1818, the regiment had a tour of service from 1821 until 1827 in the British colony of New South Wales. For the duration of their service, The Buffs was divided into four detachments, the first was based in Sydney from 1821. The second arrived in Hobart in 1822, the third, entitled The Buffs Headquarters, arrived in Sydney in 1823
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Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
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In most instances, Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces were not cabinet members. Instead, the British Army was represented variously in government by the Paymaster of the Forces, the Master-General of the Ordnance, the Secretary at War, the office was replaced in 1904 with the creation of the Army Council and the appointment of Chief of the General Staff. After Monckss death, the post was abolished, until James Scott, after Monmouths execution the post was again not filled until 1690, when it was bestowed upon John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, during the Kings absence in Ireland. With the appointment of General Lord Jeffrey Amherst in 1793, the Commander-in-Chief was given authority over matters of discipline, over supplies, training, the establishment of a military staff took place under the oversight of his successor, HRH The Duke of York. The momentum of reform at this time, however, was increasing the authority of the Secretary of State for War. The post was abolished by recommendation of the Esher Report, set up in the wake of the Second Boer War. Peninsular Preparation, The Reform of the British Army 1795–1809
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Horse Grenadier Guards
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Originally attached to the Horse Guards, they became independent for a century before being disbanded. However, the men of the formed the basis of the new troops of Life Guards. The origins of the Horse Grenadiers lie in the grenadiers a cheval of the French larmee, louis XIV added a troop of 154 to the Maison Militaire du Roi in December 1676, making it perhaps the most impressive regiment in Europe. Charles II was eager to copy the new innovation of grenade technology. Grenadiers, soldiers trained to carry and use hand grenades. Particularly tall and strong soldiers were picked to become grenadiers. Their use became general in the British Army in 1678, when a company from each regiment was picked and trained as grenadiers. It was at time that the horse grenadiers were first raised. Their intended role was to reinforce the troops of Horse Guards, the horse grenadiers, however, were recruited as in the rest of the army. In 1680 the Horse Grenadiers had been disbanded due to protest from anti-militarists in the backlash to the Popish Plots. But the King was insistent that they provided much needed protection, the Exclusion Parliaments attempted to dismiss the standing army and separate the militia from the kings command. In May 1679 they passed another Disbanding Act, calling for disbanding of all troops, the controversy caused the downfall of Tory minister Earl of Danby. From August the Horse Grenadiers were all quartered at the Royal Mews, Charing Cross and these grenadiers functioned as mounted infantry, riding with the Horse Guards but fighting with grenades and muskets on foot. To The Kings Troop of Horse Guards were attached 80 privates, officered by one captain, two lieutenants, three sergeants, and three corporals, and accompanied by two drummers and two hautboys. The grenadiers attached to The Queens Troop of Horse Guards and The Duke of Yorks Troop of Horse Guards had no drummers, apparently no grenadiers were raised for the 4th Troop then extant. However, The Earl of Dovers Troop of Horse Guards, raised in May 1686, did receive a grenadier contingent. In November 1687, the grenadiers were separated from the Horse Guards as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd. As with the Horse Guards, the captains commanding the troops were ranked as Captain & Colonel, the 4th Troop was disbanded in 1689, together with the Horse Guards troop it accompanied, after the abdication of James II
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War of the Austrian Succession
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The War of the Austrian Succession involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresas succession to the Habsburg Monarchy. The war included King Georges War in British America, the War of Jenkins Ear, the First Carnatic War in India, the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland, and the First and Second Silesian Wars. Austria was supported by Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, the enemies of France, as well as the Kingdom of Sardinia. France and Prussia were allied with the Electorate of Bavaria, the war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, by which Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, but Prussia retained control of Silesia. But the peace was soon to be shattered, when Austrias desire to recapture Silesia intertwined with the political changes in Europe. In 1740, after the death of her father, Charles VI, Maria Theresa succeeded him as Queen of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria and Duchess of Parma. The complications involved in a female Habsburg ruler had been long foreseen, problems began when King Frederick II of Prussia violated the Pragmatic Sanction and invaded Silesia on 16 December 1740, using the 1537 Treaty of Brieg as a pretext. For much of the century, France approached its wars in the same way. It would let its colonies defend themselves, or would offer only minimal help, similarly, several long land borders made an effective domestic army imperative for any ruler of France. At the end of the war, France gave back its European conquests, the British—by inclination as well as for pragmatic reasons—had tended to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on the Continent. For the War of the Austrian Succession, the British were allied with Austria, by the time of the Seven Years War, they were allied with its enemy, Prussia. In marked contrast to France, Britain strove to prosecute the war in the colonies once it became involved in the war. The British pursued a strategy of naval blockade and bombardment of enemy ports. They would harass enemy shipping and attack enemy outposts, frequently using colonists from nearby British colonies in the effort and this plan worked better in North America than in Europe, but set the stage for the Seven Years War. Prince Frederick had been only 28 years of age on 31 May 1740 when his father, Frederick William I died, neither Frederick nor his father had ever been fond of Austria and its various snubs against Prussia. Emperor Charles VI had made provision for the succession of his daughter, in support of his invasion of Silesia, Frederick also used a questionable interpretation of a treaty between the Hohenzollerns and the Piasts of Brieg as pretext. In particular, Frederick feared that Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, was preparing to seize Silesia for himself to unite Saxony and Poland. The only recent combat experience of the Prussian Army was their participation in the War of the Polish Succession, accordingly, the Prussian Army had an uninspiring reputation and was counted as one of the many minor armies of the Holy Roman Empire
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