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 ...

Thomas William Taylor (13 July 1782 – 8 January 1854) of Ogwell House,

West Ogwell West Ogwell is a village and former civil parish and manor in Devon, England, located 2 miles south-west of the town of Newton Abbot and 1 mile west of the village of East Ogwell. It is now in the civil parish of Ogwell, administered by Teignbr ...

, in Devon, 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 who became Lieutenant-Governor of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Military career

He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

and in 1804 was commissioned 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 ...

in the

6th Dragoon Guards The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabi ...

. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1807 and transferred to the 24th Light Dragoons and then became military secretary to

Lord Minto Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The current earl is Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynm ...

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

. He fought with the

10th Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince ...

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 ...

in 1815. After the defeat of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

he served at the Headquarters of the Allied Army of Occupation in Paris. In 1826 he became Superintendent of the Cavalry Riding Establishment at

St John's Wood Barracks St John's Wood Barracks is a former military base in St John's Wood in London. Until 2012 it served as headquarters for Royal Horse Artillery troops responsible for (among other things) firing royal salutes in central London. History In 1804 a ...

, London, and in 1828 was appointed Inspector of Yeomanry. In 1837 he became Lieutenant-Governor of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He served as a

Groom of the Bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in Eng ...

to King William IV from 1832 to the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 and as Colonel of the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lanc ...

from 1852 to his death.

Marriage and progeny

On 14 January 1810 at St. George's Church in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India, he married Anne Harvey Petrie, a daughter of John Petrie, by whom he had progeny including: *Pierce Gilbert Edward Taylor (1810–1890), Bengal Civil Service. *Arthur Joseph Taylor (1812–1873), a Captain in the Royal Artillery. *Anne Frances Taylor (d.1861) wife of

Sir Walter Palk Carew, 8th 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 ...

(1807–1874) of

Haccombe Haccombe is a hamlet, former parish and historic manor in Devon, situated 2 1/2 miles east of Newton Abbot, in the south of the county. It is possibly the smallest parish in England, and was said in 1810 to be remarkable for containing only two ...

in Devon, whose

funerary hatchment A funerary hatchment is a depiction within a black lozenge-shaped frame, generally on a black (''sable'') background, of a deceased's heraldic achievement, that is to say the escutcheon showing the arms, together with the crest and supporters ...

survives in Haccombe Church showing the arms of Carew impaling Taylor (''Sable, a lion passant argent a label of three points azure'') where they are also shown in a stained glass window dedicated to Anne Frances Taylor. *Georgiana Jane Taylor, wife of

Robert Verney, 17th Baron Willoughby de Broke Robert John Verney, 17th Baron Willoughby de Broke and ''de jure'' 25th Baron Latimer (7 October 1809 – 5 June 1862) (born Barnard) of Compton Verney in Warwickshire, was a peer in the peerage of England. Origins He was born ''Robert John Bar ...

(1809–1862) of

Compton Verney Compton Verney is a parish and historic manor in the county of Warwickshire, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 119. The surviving manor house is the Georgian mansion Compton Verney House. Descent of the manor The first r ...

in Warwickshire.

Death

He died on 8 January 1854 and was buried at St Mary the Virgin Churchyard in

Denbury Denbury is a village in Teignbridge district of Devon, England. The village is situated between Totnes and Newton Abbot, approximately ten miles from Torquay. Denbury Hill (Locally known as Denbury Down) is an Iron Age Hill fort which is locate ...

in Devon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Thomas William Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British Army generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Eton College People of the Battle of Waterloo 1782 births 1854 deaths