Colonel Sir Thomas Noel Hill KCBKTS (24February, 17848January, 1832) was a
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 of the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
who fought at the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
on 18June, 1815.
Life and career
Born at Hawkstone Hall, near Hodnet, Shropshire, Hill was the seventh son of
Sir John Hill, 3rd Baronet
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
. He was brother to
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
,
Clement
Clement or Clément may refer to:
People
* Clement (name), a given name and surname
* Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People
Places
* Clément, French Guiana, a town
* Clement, Missouri, U.S.
* Clement Township, Michigan, U.S.
Other uses
* ...
and Rowland, who would go on to become Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.
Educated at
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury.
Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...
, he then entered the army on 25September 1801, at the age of seventeen, as a
cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...
53rd Regiment of Foot
The 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 85th (King's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881.
History E ...
and served as '' aide-de-camp'' to his brother Rowland in England and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
before accompanying him to Portugal in 1808.
Hill was present at the subsequent battles of Roleia and
Vimeiro
Vimeiro () is a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. The population in 2011 was 1,470,John Moore's army following the Battle of Corunna.
When the
Portuguese Army
The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...
was created in 1809 under Lieutenant-General William Beresford, Hill was appointed to the command of the 1st Portuguese Regiment, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and made
brevet
Brevet may refer to:
Military
* Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay
* Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college
* Aircre ...
Major in the British Army at the same time. Together with the Portuguese 16th (Vieira Telles) Regiment and the 4th Regiment of
Caçadores
The Caçadores (hunters) were the elite light infantry troops of the Portuguese Army, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Units of ''Caçadores'' – with features somewhat different from the original ones – continued to exist in the P ...
, Hill's unit completed the 1st Independent Brigade under the command of Sir Denis Pack, which subsequently took part in the
Battle of Busaco
The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco, fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulted in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army.
Having o ...
on 27September 1810. In 1811, Hill was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel by brevet in the British army.
For his role in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, Hill received an honorary distinction and he went on to fight in the battles of Salamanca (1812), Vittoria (1813) and the siege of San Sebastián (1813). Hill received a medal on each of those occasions. Having attained the rank of colonel in the Portuguese Army, he returned to England in 1814 having with permission received the Royal Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword on March 11, 1813. In July that year he was promoted to a company in the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
received the Waterloo Medal and was nominated for a Knight's Cross of the Royal Bavarian
Military Order of Max Joseph
The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in t ...
. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on the 25July 1814 and knighted on the 28th of the same month.
Back in England, he retired for a time on half-pay. In 1825, he was promoted to Colonel and in 1827, after applying to the then Commander-in-chief, the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
, he was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Death
Having succeeded Sir John Brown as commander of the cavalry depot at Maidstone in Kent, he died in office on 8January 1832 aged 47 after a short illness. His body lay in state in the local barracks for a day before the funeral, the procession of which included lancers, dragoons of his old regiment, the 13th, a band playing the
Dead March in Saul
''Saul'' ( HWV 53) is a dramatic oratorio in three acts written by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Charles Jennens. Taken from the First Book of Samuel, the story of ''Saul'' focuses on the first king of Israel's relationship with his ...
and a firing party numbering 150 men with rifles reversed. His brother Rowland acted as chief mourner while others in attendance included Lieutenant General James Kempt,
Master-General of the Ordnance
The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...