General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

William Frederick Forster KH (17 December 1798 – 8 June 1879) was a senior

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 served as Military Secretary from 1860 to 1871.

Military career

Brought up in

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, Forster was commissioned into the 85th Regiment of Foot in 1813. In 1830 he was appointed Groom of the Bedchamber for the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...

. He became Deputy Adjutant-General in Ireland in 1854. He was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General in 1855, and then Military Secretary in 1860, retiring from that post in 1871. He was promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in 1874. Forster was also

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 of ...

of the 81st Regiment of Foot. He died in 1879.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, William 1798 births 1879 deaths British Army generals 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) officers 81st Regiment of Foot officers People from Berwick-upon-Tweed