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 o ...

Thomas Bernard (September 1816 – 13 December 1882) was an Anglo-Irish

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 ...

officer and official. Bernard was the son of Thomas Bernard and Lady Catherine Henrietta Hely-Hutchinson. He was a commissioned officer in the

12th Royal Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He served as

High Sheriff of King's County The High Sheriff of King's County was the British Crown's judicial representative in King's County (now County Offaly), Ireland, from 1556, when King's County was created, until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replac ...

in 1837. Bernard was appointed Lord Lieutenant of King's County on 17 December 1867, serving in the role until his death. He was Colonel of the King's County Militia. Bernard was the owner of Castle Bernard, County Offaly. He had an illegitimate daughter with actress Sarah Fairbrother. The daughter, Louisa Catherine, was born on 22 March 1839, and baptised as if she were legitimate, with the surname Bernard (although her birth was not registered under either Bernard or Fairbrother). Bernard made provision for her at the time of her marriage. Louisa Catherine died without issue in 1919.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Thomas 1816 births 1882 deaths 12th Royal Lancers officers 19th-century Anglo-Irish people High Sheriffs of King's County Lord-Lieutenants of King's County