General Edward Stopford Claremont CB (23 January 1819 – 16 July 1890) was a British soldier who was the United Kingdom's first military attaché, holding the post in Paris for 25 years.

Birth

Stopford Claremont was born in Paris with the name Edward Charles John Stopford, the

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

son of Lieutenant General Hon. Sir Edward Stopford and Anaïs Pauline Nathalie Aubert, known as Mademoiselle Anaïs, an actress in the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

. His paternal grandfather was James Stopford, 2nd Earl of Courtown. James Stopford, 3rd Earl of Courtown refused to allow him to use the sole name of Stopford because of his illegitimate status and so he was naturalised in Britain by private act of Parliament in 1836 with the name of Edward Stopford Claremont.

Career

Stopford Claremont entered the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1838 as an

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the Royal Regiment of Foot, promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in 1841 and Captain in the

Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment The Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment of the British Army was raised in 1840 for service in Canada. Its members were veterans of service in other regiments of the British Army. Formation The concern which led to the creation of the regiment was ...

in 1845. For "distinguished service" he was given brevet rank of Major in 1854. As "military commissioner" he was attached to the French army in 1855 during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

and was commended for his services by General Canrobert. Later that year he was given brevet

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

rank and awarded the CB. He was also with French forces during the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

in 1859 and the Franco-Prussian War in 1870–71. The

Emperor of the French Emperor of the French (French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires. Details A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procla ...

said that Stopford Claremont was his favourite English officer and awarded him the Fourth Class of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

after the Crimean War, and later promoted him to the Third Class. The Ottoman Sultan gave him (along with many other British officers) the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in f ...

, 4th class, in 1858, at which time he was described as "Military Attache to Her Majesty's Embassy at Paris". In 1862 the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

gave him the further honour of

Groom of the Privy Chamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

. He was given the local rank of

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1870, fully promoted the next year (backdated to 1868), and promoted again to Lieutenant-General in 1877. Stopford Claremont retired in 1881 with the honorary rank of full

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

. He was honorary colonel of the Bedfordshire Regiment from 1883 until his death.

Family

In 1843 Edward Stopford Claremont married Frances Charlotte, daughter of General Sir George Wetherall. They had six children. He seems at some point to have had a liaison with a wealthy widow,

Yolande Lyne-Stephens Pauline Duvernay or Yolande Marie-Louise Duvernay or Yolande Marie Louise de Varnay (December 1812 – 2 September 1894) was a noted French dancer. Biography Pauline Duvernay was born at Versailles and became a student of Hippolyte Barrez at t ...

; his third son Henry changed his surname from Stopford Claremont to Lyne Stephens.The London Gazette, 1 March 1895
/ref>

References

Obituary
''The Times'', London, 17 July 1890, page 5

powys.org

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claremont, Edward Stopford 1819 births 1890 deaths British diplomats British Army personnel of the Crimean War British Army generals Companions of the Order of the Bath Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 4th class Military personnel from Paris Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Burials in England British military attachés