Robert Douglas ( – 30 April 1745) of St Ola,

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

was a British Army officer and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1730 to 1745. He died in battle. Douglas was the third son of

George Douglas, 13th Earl of Morton George Douglas, 13th Earl of Morton (1662 – 4 January 1738), of St Ola, Orkney, styled The Honourable George Douglas between 1681 and 1730, was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 until he succ ...

. He joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1721 as an ensign in the

31st Foot The 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1702. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot to form the East Surrey Regiment in 1881. History Origins ...

, and became captain in 1732. When his father succeeded to the peerage in 1730, Douglas was returned unopposed in his place as the

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 ...

(MP) for Orkney and Shetland at a by-election on 7 May 1730. He voted with the Administration on the army in 1732 and on the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Customs officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

in 1733. He was returned unopposed again at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

. In March 1735, he found himself in conflict with the Administration and his father over an election petition. The petition was by

William Piers William Piers may refer to: * William Piers (bishop) William Piers (Pierse, Pierce; –1670) was Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1621 to 1624, Bishop of Peterborough from 1630 to 1632 and Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1632 until t ...

and the ministry had set themselves to turn out the sitting Member, George Hamilton. Douglas voted in honesty and as his conscience dictated for Hamilton. Walpole threatened to take away his commission, and his father threatened to disinherit him but he refused to change his vote. He was still returned unopposed at the

1741 general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

and voted consistently with the Administration. He spoke in favour of the Hanoverians in January 1744. Douglas rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the

3rd Foot Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

in 1740,

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 ...

in 1743, and also became aide-de-camp to King George II. He served in the campaigns in Flanders, where he was responsible for escorting Marshal Belleisle as a prisoner from the continent to England. Douglas died unmarried in the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought on 11 May 1745 near Tournai in modern Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Army of roughly the same size, led by th ...

on 30 April 1745. When Belleisle heard of his death, he expressed ‘great sorrow on account of ouglas's genteel behaviour to him.

References

Year of birth uncertain 1703 births 1745 deaths People from Orkney East Surrey Regiment officers Younger sons of earls Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British military personnel killed in the War of the Austrian Succession Scots Guards officers {{UK-army-bio-stub