John Craufurd (c.1725–1764 ) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1761 and 1764.

Early life

Craufurd was the seventh son of

Patrick Craufurd Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

of Drumsoy. He joined the army as an Ensign in the

13th Foot The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

in 1738. He became captain in 1743, major in 1747 and lieutenant-colonel in 1749 serving under General Pulteney.

Military career

In 1759 Craufurd was chosen to be colonel of the

85th Regiment of Foot The 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. H ...

raised by Lord Bath, for Lord Pulteney the son of General Pulteney. He was Colonel of the Regiment from 1759 to 1763. In 1759, he undertook a recruiting tour for the Regiment in the North of England. He reported on the progress of the tour setting out for York "where I shall meet Lord Northumberland, and some others who are zealous to serve the infant corps. From thence I shall go to Newcastle, where I have some friends, and will carry with me proper recommendations to Sir Walter Blackett, Mr. Ridley and others". He became brigadier-general in 1760 and took part in the

capture of Belle Île The Capture of Belle Île was a British amphibious expedition to capture the French island of Belle Île off the Brittany coast in 1761, during the Seven Years' War. After an initial British attack was repulsed, a second attempt under General St ...

in March 1761. From 1762 to 1763 he was serving in Portugal. He became colonel of the

3rd Foot The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), 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 ...

in 1763.

Parliamentary career

Craufurd appeared to use the northern recruiting tour in 1759 for another purpose – the furtherance of his parliamentary ambitions. John Calcraft, regimental agent to the 85th Foot, wrote to Craufurd in September “I do mightily approve your Newcastle scheme as well as your Berwick intentions, and think with you secrecy is necessary there at present as to election intentions, though I would do all I could consistent therewith and avoiding for the present public declaration” Later, Craufurd by invitation from the mayor, burgesses and a majority of freemen secured his election for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

and declared himself a candidate. He was returned unopposed as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Berwick at the

1761 general election The 1761 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Sco ...

. His military and other responsibilities may have kept him away from Parliament as it was said “Craufurd has never spoke in the House though often threatened the attempt.”.

Later life

Craufurd also became Lt-governor of Berwick in April 1764 apparently “till

Guise Guise (; nl, Wieze) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The city was the birthplace of the noble family of Guise, Dukes of Guise, who later became Princes of Joinville. Population Sights The remains ...

(the governor) dies”. He was a stopgap after the death of John Barrington but in the event was outlived by Guise. He also became Lt-Governor of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

in June 1764. He died unmarried at Menorca on 2 August 1764.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craufurd, John 1720s births 1764 deaths British MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Somerset Light Infantry officers 85th Regiment of Foot (Royal Volunteers) officers Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) officers