Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

William Frederick Waldegrave, Viscount Chewton (29 June 1816 – 8 October 1854) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. He died of wounds received in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

Early life and education

William Waldegrave was born on 29 June 1816 in Cardington, Bedfordshire. Waldegrave was the eldest son of

William Waldegrave, 8th Earl Waldegrave Vice-Admiral William Waldegrave, 8th Earl Waldegrave (27 October 1788 – 24 October 1859) was a British naval commander and politician. Biography Waldegrave was the son of George Waldegrave, 4th Earl Waldegrave and his wife, the former La ...

and was educated at

Cheam School Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich. History The school started in Cheam, Surre ...

. While still at school, he served as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

aboard his father's ship, HMS ''Seringapatam'' from 1829–31 and later graduated from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1837. In 1846, his father inherited the earldom from his nephew George Waldegrave, 7th Earl Waldegrave and Waldegrave took the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

Viscount Chewton.

Military career

Chewton emigrated to Canada and served with the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

which put down the

rebellions of 1837 Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

. He returned to Britain in 1843 and served with the

. In 1846, Chewton fought in the

Battle of Sobraon The Battle of Sobraon was fought on 10 February 1847, between the forces of the East India Company and the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of the declining Sikh Empire of the Punjab region, Punjab. The Sikhs were completely defeated, making this the ...

and then captained the

6th Regiment of Foot Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six. * The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction Music * Sixth interval (music)s: ** major sixth, a musical interval ** minor six ...

stationed at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

in 1847 and then the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1848. Chewton later fought in the

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) took place during the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septe ...

in September 1854, but died of his wounds a few weeks later.

Marriage and children

Chewton was married on 2 July 1850 to Frances Bastard, daughter of Captain John Bastard of

Sharpham Sharpham is a village and civil parish on the Somerset Levels near Street and Glastonbury in the county of Somerset, England. It is located near the River Brue. Governance The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including s ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. They had three children: * A daughter who died in infancy in 1851. * William Frederick Waldegrave, 9th Earl Waldegrave (born 2 March 1851, died 12 August 1930), father of William Waldegrave, 10th Earl Waldegrave *

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

Henry Noel Waldegrave, 11th Earl Waldegrave (born 14 October 1854, died 30 December 1936), father of

Geoffrey Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave Geoffrey Noel Waldegrave, 12th Earl Waldegrave, (21 November 1905 – 23 May 1995), known as Viscount Chewton from 1933 to 1936, was a British Peerage, British peer and agriculturist. Background and education Waldegrave was the only son of H ...

Frances, Viscountess Chewton was a

Woman of the Bedchamber In the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the term Woman of the Bedchamber is used to describe a woman (usually a daughter of a peer) attending either a queen regnant or queen consort, in the role of lady-in-waiting. Historically the term 'Gen ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and received the Order of Victoria and Albert, 3rd class. She died 11 April 1902, at Bookham Lodge, Cobham, Surrey, in her 80th year, of pneumonia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chewton, William Waldegrave, Viscount 1816 births 1854 deaths Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers Royal Scots Fusiliers officers

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British military personnel of the First Anglo-Sikh War British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel killed in the Crimean War People educated at Cheam School People from Cardington, Bedfordshire Heirs apparent who never acceded British courtesy viscounts Military personnel from Bedfordshire