William Balfour (1785–1838), was a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

in the British Army. Balfour was a boy-ensign in the

40th Foot The 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1717 in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers ...

at the

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, and won the approval of Sir John Moore. He served on the staff of Major General

Brent Spencer General Sir Brent Spencer ( – 29 December 1828) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army, seeing active service during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Peninsular War he became General Wellesl ...

in the Mediterranean and at the capture of

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, and received a brevet lieutenant colonelcy for service in the field with the 40th in the Peninsula and south of France in 1813–14. After a few years on half-pay, he became lieutenant colonel of his old regiment, commanding it for several years in

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, and he was afterwards in command of the

82nd Foot The 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Prince of Wales's ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

. He retired from the army in 1832, and died in February 1838.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, WIlliam 1785 births 1838 deaths 40th Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars South Lancashire Regiment officers