Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1957 (Accumulation)
- 1810 (Publication)
Level of description
Item
Extent and medium
4to, 1 volume
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
WILSON, SIR ROBERT THOMAS, brother of Major William Wilson (qv); b. 17 Aug 1777; adm. 19 Apr 1786; left 1788; at Winchester Coll. 1789-91; Cornet, 15th Light Dragoons 24 Apr 1794; Lieut., 30 Oct 1794; Capt., 21 Sep 1796; Maj., Hompesch’s Mounted Riflemen 28 Jun 1800; Lieut. -Col., 27 Feb 1802; half-pay Oct 1802; 19th Light Dragoons Aug 1804; 20th Light Dragoons 7 Mar 1805; Brevet Col. and ADC to King 25 Aug 1810; Lieut. -Col., 22nd Light Dragoons 10 Dec 1812; Major-Gen., 4 Jun 1813; served in Flanders 1794-5; one of the eight officers commanding the two squadrons of the 15th Light Dragoons which participated in the rout of a much superior French force at Villers-en-Cauchies 24 Apr 1794, preventing the capture of the Emperor Francis II by the French; for this brilliant action Wilson and the other officers were presented with a commemporative gold medal in 1798 by the Emperor, who also conferred on them in 1800 the Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa; George III permitted them to accept this order on 2 Jun 1801, with the rank of Baron of the Holy Roman Empire and knighthood attached; served at the Helder 1799, in Egypt 1801 and at the Cape of Good Hope 1806; present at battle of Eylau 1807; commanded Royal Lusitanian Legion in Portugal 1808-9, receiving rank of Brigadier-Gen. in Portuguese army; accompanied Sir Robert Liston to Constantinope in 1812, with local rank of Brigadier-Gen. in British army; British Commissioner with the Russian Army in 1812-3, taking part in the battles of Lutzen, Bautzen, Dresden, Kulm and Kranpen; British Commissioner with Austrian Army in Germany and Italy 1813-4, serving at Leipzig, Vicenza, Verona and Valaggio; assisted in escape of Comte de Lavalette from Paris and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment 24 Apr 1816; MP Southwark 1818-31; dismissed from British army 15 Sep 1821 for attempting to prevent bloodshed during the disturbance at Queen Caroline’s funeral on the previous day; went to Spain in 1823 to take part in the war there; reinstated in Army with rank of Lieut. -Gen. on accession of William IV in 1830; although he had entered the House of Commons as a member of the Radical wing of the Whig party, he refused to vote for the Reform Bill of 1831, which he regarded as “the initiatory measure of a republican form of government”, and retired from active political life; Col., 15th Light Dragoons, from 29 Dec 1835; Gen., 23 Nov 1841; Governor and Commander in Chief, Gibraltar 4 Oct 1843 – Nov 1848; although the recipient of a number of distinctions from the Allied Sovereigns, he was never honoured by his own; author, The History of the British Expedition to Egypt, 1802, and other works; m. at Gretna Green 7 Jul 1797, and at St. George’s, Hanover Square, London 10 Mar 1798 Jemima, dau. of Col. William Belford, Harbledown, Kent; d. 9 May 1849. Buried North Aisle, Westminster Abbey. DNB.
Repository
Archival history
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Access to rare books is granted to bona-fide researchers, by prior appointment, in cases where the item in unavailable at another UK repository.
Conditions governing reproduction
A reprographics service is available to researchers subject to the access restrictions outlined above. Copying will not be undertaken if there is any risk of damage to the item. Copies are supplied in accordance with Westminster School's Policy on Archive and Heritage Collections, and under provisions of any relevant copyright legislation. Permission to reproduce images of items in the custody of Westminster School must be sought from its Governing Body.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Uncut, edge-mounted
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Westminster School (Accumulator)
- Greene, Godfrey George Roundell, 1888-1956 (Accumulator)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Final
Level of detail
Partial
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
- Latin