British Army General, Greek War of Independence General. Born in Cork in Ireland, the second son of a Quaker merchant, he ran away from school to join the British Army, where he became an Ensign in the 13th Somersetshire Light Infantry and served in Egypt under Sir Ralph Abercromby. In 1809, he accompanied the Army's expedition to the Ionian Islands, which had been under French rule since the Treaty of Tilsit two years previously, but were about to become a British protectorate. There he met Theodoros Kolokotronis and other Greeks in exile from the Ottoman Empire. He was given permission to form two Greek regiments under English pay, but these were disbanded. After the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, he pleaded the cause of Greek independence in London and at the Congress of Vienna, but this was in vain. He was knighted in 1822 and, in March 1827, returned to Greece to fight in the War of Independence, being appointed the Commander in Chief within a month. In 1829, after the campaign in Western Greece, he resigned his command because he opposed the government of Count Kapodistrias. Later, he was appointed the confidential adviser to Sir Edward Lyons, the first British Minister to Greece, and was involved in the bloodless Revolution of 1843 which forced King Otto to agree to a more liberal constitution. Two stained glass windows of 1875 were placed to the General's memory in St. Paul's Anglican Church, not far from the cemetery here he is interred.
British Army General, Greek War of Independence General. Born in Cork in Ireland, the second son of a Quaker merchant, he ran away from school to join the British Army, where he became an Ensign in the 13th Somersetshire Light Infantry and served in Egypt under Sir Ralph Abercromby. In 1809, he accompanied the Army's expedition to the Ionian Islands, which had been under French rule since the Treaty of Tilsit two years previously, but were about to become a British protectorate. There he met Theodoros Kolokotronis and other Greeks in exile from the Ottoman Empire. He was given permission to form two Greek regiments under English pay, but these were disbanded. After the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, he pleaded the cause of Greek independence in London and at the Congress of Vienna, but this was in vain. He was knighted in 1822 and, in March 1827, returned to Greece to fight in the War of Independence, being appointed the Commander in Chief within a month. In 1829, after the campaign in Western Greece, he resigned his command because he opposed the government of Count Kapodistrias. Later, he was appointed the confidential adviser to Sir Edward Lyons, the first British Minister to Greece, and was involved in the bloodless Revolution of 1843 which forced King Otto to agree to a more liberal constitution. Two stained glass windows of 1875 were placed to the General's memory in St. Paul's Anglican Church, not far from the cemetery here he is interred.
Bio by: Iain MacFarlaine
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