Lieutenant-General Sir John Plumptre Carr Glyn (11 January 1837 – 28 March 1912) was a British general who saw active service 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 t ...

and the Anglo-Ashanti War.

Early life

John Plumptre Carr Glyn was born Witchampton, east

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

.1901 Census of England
/ref>

Military career

He joined the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifl ...

in August 1854 just before the opening of hostilities in the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

. He saw active service during the second year of the campaign and was present at Sebastopol from 17 June until the fall of the fortress on 11 September 1855. He was promoted from

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

to lieutenant without

purchase Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly betwe ...

on 29 December 1854. He next saw active service, in 1874, as a major in the 2nd Battalion of the

, under Colonel Sir Garnet Wolseley during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War. He was personally involved in the Battle of Amoaful on 31 January 1874 and five days later when the fighting ended with the

Battle of Ordashu The Battle of Ordashu was a battle fought on 4 February 1874 during the Anglo-Ashanti Wars#Third Anglo-Ashanti War, Third Anglo-Ashanti War when Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, Sir Garnet Wolseley defeated the Ashanti people, Ashantis. The ...

. He was also present at the capture of the capital,

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

, which had been abandoned by the Ashanti. The Ashanti War gave him his

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 ...

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 colone ...

on 1 April 1874. The only mention, found to date, of his involvement in the Anglo-Zulu Wars is the following: Lt-Col Bengough arrived in Natal with the 77th Foot in December 1878. He was placed in command of the 2nd Battalion Natal Native Contingent, which formed part of

Durnford Durnford is a surname, and may refer to; * Anthony Durnford, British Army officer * Elias Durnford, British Army officer * Elias Walker Durnford, British engineer * Isaac Durnford, Canadian actor * John Durnford, Admiral in the Royal Navy * John ...

's Column, and which was left to protect the frontier at Kranz Kop on the departure of that force to join Glyn's Column. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in 1879. On 16 December 1884, while on half pay, he was gazetted to be Lieutenant-Colonel, to command the 22nd Regimental District (the Cheshire Regiment). In 1892 he succeeded Sir Evelyn Wood as the General Officer Commanding the Eastern District at home and held the post until 1896. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in 1889 and to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in January 1898. The 1901 Census of England indicates that he had retired and was living in the parish of Holt, Dorset. He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifl ...

on 18 January 1903.

The Ashanti Ring

The Ashanti Ring, also known as the

Wolseley ring The Wolseley ring was a group of 19th century British army officers loyal to Garnet Wolseley and considered by him to be clever, brave, experienced and hard-working. After the Crimean War Wolseley started to keep a note of the best officers he met, ...

, was a group of 19th century

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 Gur ...

officers loyal to

Garnet Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, W ...

and considered by him to be clever, brave, experienced and hard-working. The 'ring' itself was rooted in Wolseley's appointments for the

Ashanti Campaign The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victorio ...

of 1873–4, in which Wolseley led British troops to take control of the Gold Coast. After the

Wolseley started to keep a note of the best officers he met, and began gathering a network of able military men loyal to him. There were other circles around other military leaders; later these would dwindle as more formal selection and promotion procedures became established. Men from this group accompanied Wolseley on his various projects for about a decade. They are sometimes called the Ashanti Ring, or, in a punning reference to Wolseley's first name, the

Garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different ...

Ring. Later they were the ''Africans'' against the ''Indians'' of the rival Roberts Ring of Lord Roberts and

Herbert Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, h ...

during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

Family life

Glyn's father was Rev. Carr John Glyn (1799–1897), who was a godfather and namesake to Handley Carr Glyn Moule, a theologian and bishop of Durham. On 11 September 1866 John Glyn married Ellen (d. 20 April 1928), eldest daughter of James Robert Dalton Dewar of Kent. In the 1901 Census, Ellen is listed as a Belgium British subject. *Their daughter Ada Carr-Glyn was baptised at The Church of the Holy Rood Buckland Newton in Dorset on 9 December 1870. She married Lt-Col Dudley Granville Richard Ryder, son of Dudley Henry Ryder and Georgiana Emily Calcraft, on 24 October 1889. She died in 1950.The Peerage.com
/ref> *Daughter, Nellie Georgiana Carr married Sir George Henry Sutherland (d. 11 May 1937) on 11 June 1890. She died on 18 April 1891. *Son John Carr Glyn was unmarried. Glyn died on 28 March 1912.

Honours

Lt-Genl Sir John Plumptre Carr-Glyn was invested as a

Knight Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mi ...

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...

(KCB).

Early life

Military career

The Ashanti Ring

Family life

Honours

References

Further reading