General William Charles Forrest (22 March 1819 – 1 April 1902) was a senior officer in the British Army. Forrest was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel William Forrest of the Bengal Army, and his wife, Georgiana Christina Carmichael-Smyth, daughter of James Carmichael Smyth and sister of

Sir James Carmichael-Smyth, 1st Baronet Major-General Sir James Carmichael-Smyth, 1st Baronet, (22 February 17794 March 1838) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. Biography Early life and family Carmichael-Smyth was born in London the eldest son of Scottish physi ...

. He joined the Army as a cornet in 1836, and was promoted lieutenant in 1839, captain in 1841, major in 48, brevet lieutenant-colonel in 1854, lieutenant-colonel in 1859, colonel in 1860, major-general in 1868, lieutenant-general in 1877 and full general on 1 July 1881. He fought in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

and took part in the

Charge of the Heavy Brigade The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russia's principal naval base on the Black Sea. The ...

at Balaclava. He was appointed CB in the 1875 Birthday Honours. Memorial to William Charles Forrest in Winchester Cathedral

He was given the colonelcy of the

8th Hussars The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in force ...

from 1880 to 1886 and of the 11th Hussars from 8 February 1886 until his death in 1902. His memorial in Winchester Cathedral confirms that he fought in the Crimean War and was present at the battles of Balaclava,

Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

Inkerman Inkerman ( uk, Інкерман, russian: Инкерман, crh, İnkerman) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but '' de jure'' within Ukraine. It li ...

and Chernaya. It also indicates that he was in the 11th Hussars and the 4th and

7th Dragoon Guards The 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688 as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards for Princess Charlotte in 1788. ...

. He married Elizabeth Ann Penfold in 1851. She died in 1887 and was buried at Loose parish church, Kent.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, William Charles 1819 births 1902 deaths British Army generals Companions of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from London