William Thornhill (British Army officer)

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William Thornhill (1768 - 9 December 1851) was a British Army officer of the Peninsular War and the Waterloo Campaign. [1] His nephew was the politician William Pole Thornhill.

Life

Born in Derbyshire as the second son of Bache Thornhill of Stanton Hall, [1] [2] he became a Lieutenant in the 23rd Regiment of Foot on 28 February 1800 before rising to Captain on 5 May 1804, both whilst serving in the Peninsula. [3] On 12 June 1806 he transferred to the 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons (Hussars). [3] In 1808 he commanded a twelve-man detachment of the regiment at Sahagún and fought at Benavente. [3] He was promoted to Major on 8 April 1813. [3]

He also fought with the 7th Hussars at Orthez on 27 February 1814, leading a charge, [4] capturing a French colour and being wounded. [3] [1] However, he was disgraced in March that year when he failed to prevent an incursion of brigands at Villeneuve, being captured in the process but escaping. [3] [1]

He was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo whilst aide de camp to Lord Uxbridge and was made a Brevet Lieutenant Colonel on the day of the battle. [3] That rank was made substantive on 12 August 1819 when he was put in command of the regiment, a command he held until retirement in 1826. [3] An 1821 oil sketch of him for Jan Willem Pieneman's The Battle of Waterloo was acquired by the Duke of Wellington and is now at Apsley House. [5] He later died in Dorset [1] and is commemorated alongside the Duke of Wellington on the Andle stone on Stanton Moor in Derbyshire. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown, Steve. "British Cavalry Regiments and the Men Who Led Them 1793-1815: 7th Light Dragoons (Hussars)".
  2. 1 2 "Derbyshire Postcards - Birchover".
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "William Thornhill".
  4. ↑ Foster, Ray. "Notes on Wellington's Cavalry in the Peninsula: 7th Hussars (Queens Own)".
  5. ↑ "ArtUK entry".
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