Osmond Barnes - Chief Herald of Delhi Assemblage

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Osmond Barnes (23 December 1834 – 20 May 1930) was a British officer of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

and Chief

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Early life

The son of John Barnes, of

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the Third Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to BBC Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Institute of British A ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and Chorleywood House,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, Barnes was born in

Bryanston Square Bryanston Square is an garden square in Marylebone, London. Terraced buildings surround it — often merged, converted or sub-divided, some of which remain residential. The southern end has the William Pitt Byrne memorial fountain. Next t ...

, on 23 December 1834, and educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

.''BARNES, Colonel Osmond'' in ''Who Was Who 1897-2006'' online, retrieved 25 January 2007, fro
BARNES, Colonel Osmond
at credoreference.com (a subscription site) His parents, John Barnes and Sarah Medley, were married on 21 July 1824, and had eleven children, Edmund John, Augusta, Sarah, Lucy Antoinette, Charles Augustus, Edward Medley, John Henry, Osmond, Harold, Ada Mary, and Jocelyn. In 1831, in reporting the early death of Barnes's sister Augusta at the age of five, ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' described their father as "John Barnes, esq., banker, Faringdon, and of Chorley Wood House". An obituary of Osmond Barnes states that at the time of his birth, his father, John Barnes, was a High Sheriff. However, according to ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' and the ''

Annual Register ''The Annual Register'' (originally subtitled "A View of the History, Politicks and Literature of the Year ...") is a long-established reference work, written and published each year, which records and analyses the year's major events, developmen ...

'', John Barnes of Chorley Wood House was appointed

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. High Sheriff, Sheriff is the olde ...

in the year 1844.

Chorleywood Chorleywood is both a village and a civil parish in the Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, on the border with Buckinghamshire, approximately northwest of Charing Cross. The village is adjacent to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Na ...

, although in Hertfordshire, is close to its boundary with

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

Career

Military service

Barnes joined the

in 1855 and served through the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

of 1857 to 1859. At the time of his marriage in August 1862, he was described as "Lieut. Bombay Staff Corps and Commandant of the Lahore Light Horse" Barnes was gazetted a

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 sub ...

of the 13th Native Infantry in 1863 and saw active service in

Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...

in 1868 and in the

Afghan War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

of 1878–1879, where he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He was promoted Captain on 5 March 1867, gazetted a Captain of the Bengal Staff Corps on 14 November 1871, promoted Major on 5 March 1875 and ranked as Major from 4 March 1875. He was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel in the Bengal Staff Corps on 4 March 1881. He served in the Zhob Valley Campaign of 1884, being again mentioned in despatches. He was promoted Colonel in the Bengal Staff Corps on 4 March 1885. He commanded the 10th Bengal Lancers. Barnes retired the service on 4 March 1893, announced in the ''Gazette'' as "INDIAN STAFF CORPS Colonel Osmond Barnes is transferred to the Unemployed Supernumerary List. Dated 4 March 1893". When appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in June 1893, he was described as "Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel Osmond Barnes, Indian Staff Corps".

Herald

Barnes became Chief Herald of India. In this role, in 1877, he had the task of proclaiming

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

as Empress of India at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. A wood-engraving of Barnes appeared in ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...

'' newspaper for 10 March 1877, showing him in a

tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed ...

as Chief Herald of India. He was described as 'Major Osmond Barnes (Tenth Bengal Cavalry)".''

'' newspaper, London, dated 10 March 1877, vol XV, no. 380

Private life

Osmond Barnes married Emily Mainwaring, they had six children - Harold, Percy, Osmond Mainwaring, Charles, Mabel, and Irene. The marriage was announced in ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' for November 1862''The Gentleman's Magazine'' for November 1862, p. 626, online a
The Gentleman's Magazine
(accessed 28 January 2008) - Barnes retired to England and lived to be ninety-five, although his wife had died in 1912.

Honours

* Abyssinia campaign medal, 1868 *

Mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, 1868 and 1884 *

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

, 1893

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Osmond 1834 births 1930 deaths People educated at Rugby School Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of arms British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the Abyssinian War People from Marylebone Bengal Staff Corps officers Indian Staff Corps officers Bombay Staff Corps officers British people in colonial India