![Portrait of R](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Portrait_of_R._H._Gronow_%284670809%29.jpg)
Rees Howell Gronow (179422 November 1865), "Captain Gronow", was a
Welsh Grenadier Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
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officer, an unsuccessful parliamentarian, a
dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle des ...
and a writer of celebrated reminiscences.
Origins and education
He was the eldest son of William Gronow of Court Herbert,
Neath,
Glamorganshire
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
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, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
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* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
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, who died in 1830, by Anne, only daughter of Rees Howell of Gwrrhyd. He was born on 7 May 1794, and was educated at
Eton, where he was intimate with
Shelley.
Army career
On 24 December 1812 he received a
commission 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 1st Battalion
1st Regiment of Foot Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
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, and after
mounting guard at
St. James's Palace for a few months was sent with a detachment of his regiment to
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. In 1813 he took part in the principal
military operations
A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations ma ...
in that country, and in the following year returned with his battalion to London. Here he became one of the
dandies
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...
of the town, and was among the very few officers who were admitted at
Almack's
Almack's was the name of a number of establishments and social clubs in London between the 18th and 20th centuries. Two of the social clubs would go on to fame as Brooks's and Boodle's. Almack's most famous establishment was based in assembly roo ...
, where he remembered the first introduction of
quadrilles
The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodie ...
and
waltzes
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wal ...
in place of the old
reels
A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...
and country dances. Wanting money to equip himself for his further services abroad, he obtained an advance of £200 from his agents,
Cox & Greenwood, and going with this money to a gambling-house in
St. James's Square, he won £600, with which he purchased horses and other necessaries. Sir
Thomas Picton
Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible t ...
then took him out to Flanders as an honorary ''
aide-de-camp'' but finding no employment for him, he was advised to join the 3rd battalion of his regiment
and was subsequently present at
Quatre Bras
Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genappe ...
and
Waterloo. He entered Paris on 25 June 1815, and on 28 June became 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 ...
and later a
captain in his regiment. From this period until 24 October 1821 he continued with his regiment in England, and then retired from the army. On 18 June 1823 he became
insolvent
In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
, and after some confinement was discharged from
Debtors' Prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histori ...
under the Insolvent Debtors Act.
Parliamentary career
At the
1831 general election, Howell was put forward as a
pro-Reform government candidate for
Great Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linc ...
. Gronow was narrowly defeated, with 187 votes against the 192 for
John Villiers Shelley and 200 for
George Harris, the two victorious Tories. At the subsequent
1832 general election, he was elected for
Stafford. His victory was the result of extensive bribery, and a parliamentary investigation in June–July 1833 recommended that the corruption was so "open, general, and systematic" that the constituency should be completely disenfranchised. The bill did not pass the House of Lords, however, with the effect that Gronow remained a member of Parliament until it was dissolved in December 1834.
[Some sources suggest that Gronow lost his seat in 1833 as a result of the report, but he was recorded voting in Parliament through t]
August 1834
In the
1835 general election, he was defeated by
F. L. Holyoake Goodricke, and did not seek election again.
Literary career
For many years after this he resided in London, mixing in the best society. In later years he took up his residence in Paris, where he was present during the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
of 1–2 December 1851. His name is chiefly remembered in connection with his four volumes of reminiscences:
*''s:Reminiscences of Captain Gronow, Reminiscences of Captain Gronow, formerly of the Grenadier Guards and M.P. for Stafford, being Anecdotes of the Camp, the Court, and the Clubs, at the close of the last War with France, related by himself'', 1862;
*''Recollections and Anecdotes, being a Second Series of Reminiscences, by Captain R. H. Gronow'', 1863;
*''Celebrities of London and Paris, being a Third Series of Reminiscences and Anecdotes'', 1865;
*''Captain Gronow's Last Recollections, being the Fourth and Final Series of his Reminiscences and Anecdotes'', 1866.
In 1888 appeared ''The Reminiscences and Recollections of Capt. Gronow. With illustrations from contemporary sources ... by J. Grego''. When he relates his personal experiences, as in his account of the state of Paris in 1815, the condition of society in London in his own time, and the doings of the court of
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
, his testimony is to be relied on, but his second-hand stories and anecdotes of persons whom he did not know are of lesser value. Whether reliable or not, his narrative is invariably lively and entertaining.
Personal characteristics
He was a remarkably handsome man, always faultlessly dressed, and was very popular in society. His portrait appeared in shop windows with those of
Brummell, the
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
,
Alvanley
Alvanley is a small rural village and civil parish near Helsby, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is on the B5393 road and near junction 14 of the M56 motorway. ...
, Kangaroo Cook, and other worthies. With the exception of
Captain Ross he was the best pistol shot of his day, and in early life took part in several
duels. He married first, in 1825, an opera dancer, Antoinine, daughter of Monsieur Didier of Paris. By his second wife, Amelia Louisa Matilda Rouquet (a
Breton aristocrat), whom he married in 1858, aged 63, he had four children. According to the ''
Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
'', he left his widow and infant children "wholly unprovided for" at his death, aged 70 in Paris on 22November 1865.
References
;Attribution
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gronow, Rees Howell
Grenadier Guards officers
People educated at Eton College
19th-century Welsh writers
British memoirists
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stafford
UK MPs 1832–1835
Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies
1865 deaths
1794 births
British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
British duellists
19th-century memoirists
People imprisoned for debt