Major-General Sir Peter Melvill Melvill (2 July 1803''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975'' – 5 November 1895) was a British military commander in the

Bombay Army The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three presidencies of Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. It was established in 1662 and governed by the East India Company until the Government of India A ...

who was military and naval secretary to the Governor of Bombay.

Early life

Melvill was born at

Pendennis Castle Pendennis Castle (Cornish: ''Penn Dinas'', meaning "headland fortification") is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII near Falmouth, Cornwall, England between 1540 and 1542. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect agai ...

, near

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English or ...

, where his father was Governor.''1861 England Census'' He was the youngest son of Capt.

Philip Melvill Philip Melvill (7 April 1762 – 27 October 1811)''Memoirs of the Late Philip Melvill, Esq. Lieut. Gov. of Pendennis Castle, Cornwall : With an Appendix Containing Extracts From His Diaries and Letters Selected by a Friend...together with Two Let ...

(1762–1811) and Elizabeth Carey Dobrée (1770–1845). His family was strongly associated with the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. His elder brothers included Sir

James Cosmo Melvill Sir James Cosmo Melvill (8 June 1792 – 23 July 1861) was a British administrator who served as the last secretary of the East India Company. Life Born at Guernsey, he was the third but eldest surviving son of Philip Melvill (1762–1811), ...

, secretary of the East India Company;

Military Secretary to the India Office The Military Secretary to the India Office was responsible for the recruitment of British and other European nationals to the officer ranks of the Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian A ...

; and

Henry Melvill Rev. Henry Melvill (14 September 1798 – 9 February 1871) was a British priest in the Church of England, and principal of the East India Company College from 1844 to 1858. He afterwards served as Canon of St Paul's Cathedral. Early years Mel ...

, principal of the

East India Company College The East India Company College, or East India College, was an educational establishment situated at Hailey, Hertfordshire, nineteen miles north of London, founded in 1806 to train "writers" (administrators) for the Honourable East India Company ( ...

Career

He joined the Bombay Army in 1819 and was employed with the revenue survey of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

from 1822–27. He served as Fort Adjutant of the garrison of Bombay and ''aide-to-camp'' to the Governor in 1828. In 1829, he was on special duty in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

as assistant to the Bombay military member of the Financial Commission. In 1836, he was first assistant to the Resident in Cutch and Sind and in 1838 he officiated as Political Agent at the former place. From 1840 to 1859, he served as Secretary to the Government of Bombay. He was knighted as a Knight Commander 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 the

1860 Birthday Honours The 1860 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and wer ...

. He retired with the honorary 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 December 1861.

Personal life

In 1836, he married Catherine Mary Robertson, the daughter of John Robertson of

Tweedmouth Tweedmouth is part of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, England. It is located on the south bank of the River Tweed and is connected to Berwick town centre, on the north bank, by two road bridges and a railway bridge. Tweedmouth ...

, Berwick-upon-Tweed. They had three daughters in Bombay: * Elizabeth Margaret Melvill, who married Charles Gonne in Bombay in 1860. * Catherine Mary Melvill (1838–1872), who married

Arthur de Hochepied Larpent, 8th Baron de Hochepied Arthur John de Hochepied Larpent, 8th Baron de Hochepied (18 March 1832 – 24 August 1887) was an English judge and landowner of Huguenot and Dutch descent. The title Baron de Hochepied, in the nobility of the Kingdom of Hungary, had been granted ...

, eldest son of

John de Hochepied Larpent, 7th Baron de Hochepied John James de Hochepied Larpent, 7th Baron de Hochepied (13 May 1783 – 8 June 1860) was an English aristocrat of Huguenot and Dutch descent who became a diplomat. The title Baron de Hochepied, in the nobility of the Kingdom of Hungary had been gr ...

. * Robina Henrietta Melvill, who died young in India.''India, Select Births and Baptisms, 1786–1947'' He died in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, Sussex, in 1895.

References

External links

Sir Peter Melvill Melvill
at

The National Archives (UK) , type = Non-ministerial department , seal = , nativename = , logo = Logo_of_The_National_Archives_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg , logo_width = 150px , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , juris ...

''Melvill Family Case Study: The Second Generation''
at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melvill, Peter 1803 births 1895 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from Cornwall

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

British Indian Army officers British East India Company Army officers