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 ...

Sir Francis Colborne KCB (23 April 1817 – 26 November 1895) was Commander of British Troops in China, Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements.

Early years

Born in 1817 the second son of

John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton Field Marshal John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, (16 February 1778 – 17 April 1863) was a British Army officer and colonial governor. After taking part as a junior officer in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, Sir Ralph Abercromby's expedit ...

and educated at

Elizabeth College, Guernsey The Royal College of Elizabeth, better known as Elizabeth College, is a co-educational independent school in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. One of the earliest members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), it is a public school ...

, due to his father's posting between 1821 and 1828 as

Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey The Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The role of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as the ''de facto'' head of state in Guernsey ...

Military career

Colborne was commissioned into the

15th Regiment of Foot 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious nu ...

in 1836. He served in 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 ...

in 1855. He was appointed Commander of British Troops in China, Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements in 1874. He commanded the Perak Expedition in 1875 and quickly put down the

insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

taking place in North West

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. He was made a full general on 1 April 1882 and retired in 1883. In 1881 he was made Colonel of the First Battalion,

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

, a position he held until 1885, when he transferred to be Colonel of the

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

until his death in 1895.Westlake, pp. 114–22.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colborne, Francis 1817 births 1895 deaths Military personnel from Florence People educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey British Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath East Yorkshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the Perak War Younger sons of barons