George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, (16 April 1800 – 10 November 1888), styled Lord Bingham before 1839, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...

and

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 Gurkha ...

officer. He was one of three men, along with Captain Nolan and Lord Raglan, responsible for the fateful order during the

Battle of Balaclava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russia's principal naval base on the Black Sea. The en ...

in October 1854 that led to the Light Brigade commander, The Earl of Cardigan, leading the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to ...

. He was subsequently promoted to field marshal. Lord Lucan was a ruthless landlord during the Great Famine in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, evicting thousands of his Irish tenants and renting his land to wealthy ranchers. He also came up with a solution that allowed Jews to sit in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Life and military career

George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan (1800-1888) as a boy by Elizabeth Harcourt

Born the first son of

Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan (4 December 1764 – 30 June 1839), styled The Honourable from 1776 to 1795 and subsequently Lord Bingham until 1799, was an Irish peer and Tory politician. Background He was the only son of Charles Bingham, 1 ...

, an

peer, and Elizabeth Bingham (née Belasyse), Lord Bingham (as he was styled up until late June 1839) attended

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

but left formal education to be commissioned as an ensign in the

6th Regiment of Foot 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smal ...

on 29 August 1816. He transferred to the 11th Light Dragoons on 24 December 1818. Lord Bingham became a lieutenant in the 8th Regiment of Foot on 20 January 1820, a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 74th Regiment of Foot on 16 May 1822 and was promoted to major, unattached, on 23 June 1825.Heathcote, p. 41 He transferred to the 17th Lancers on 1 December 1825 and became commanding officer of the regiment with the rank of

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 colon ...

on 9 November 1826; he lavished such expense on his officers' uniforms and horses that the officers became known as "Bingham's Dandies". He was also elected as MP for

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

in 1826 and held that seat until 1830. During the Russo-Turkish War, which began in 1828, he acted observer with the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

'The Exterminator'

Lord Bingham succeeded his father as 3rd Earl of Lucan in the Peerage of Ireland on 30 June 1839 and, having become an Irish Representative Peer in June 1840 and having been promoted to

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 ...

on 23 November 1841, he became Lord Lieutenant of Mayo in 1845. During the Great Famine in the late 1840s, he was ruthless and introduced mass evictions from villages such as Ballinrobe. Famously stating that he "would not breed paupers to pay priests," he demolished over 300 homes and evicted 2,000 people in Ballinrobe between 1846 and 1849. He even insisted on closing the workhouse in

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. W ...

at the height of the Famine. For this, Lord Bingham earned the hatred of many Irishmen and became known as "The Exterminator." He was promoted to

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 ...

on 11 November 1851.

Crimean War

At the outbreak of 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 the ...

, Lord Lucan applied for a post and was made commander of the Cavalry Division. His brother-in-law, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, was one of his subordinates, commanding the Light Brigade – an unfortunate choice as the two men heartily detested each other. Promoted to brevet

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 th ...

on 18 August 1854, he was present at the Battle of Alma in September 1854 but, on the orders of the Army commander, Lord Raglan, he held his division in reserve.Heathcote, p. 42 At the

in October 1854, Lucan received an order from Raglan and in turn ordered Cardigan to lead the

, resulting in heavy British casualties without significant gains. As Lucan brought the

Heavy Brigade A heavy brigade is a formation made up from 'Heavy' Cavalry; i.e. Dragoon Guards and Dragoons. The Heavy Brigade was a British heavy cavalry unit commanded by General Sir James York Scarlett at the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War. The Brig ...

forward in support, he was lightly wounded in the leg. Raglan blamed Lucan for the loss ("You have lost the light brigade"), and censured him in despatches. Although Lucan complained against this censure, as the relationship between the army commander and the cavalry commander had clearly broken down, he was recalled to England, where he returned at the beginning of March 1855. On his arrival, Lucan's demand for a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

was declined and instead he defended himself with a speech to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

on 19 March 1855, blaming Raglan and his deceased aide-de-camp, Captain

Louis Nolan Louis Edward Nolan (4 January 1818 – 25 October 1854) was a British Army officer and cavalry tactician best known for his role and death in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. Born to a minor diplomatic official and h ...

. This tactic appears to have been successful as he was subsequently appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

on 5 July 1855, and Colonel of the

8th Light Dragoons The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1693. It saw service for three centuries including the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. ...

, who had charged with the Light Brigade, on 17 November 1855.

Later life

A significant contribution was made by Lucan to Parliament when he produced a solution to the problem of admitting Jews to

. Prior to this, distinguished Jews had declined to take the oath "on the true faith of a Christian" and having not been sworn in as required by statute, were refused voting rights although having been elected an MP. Lucan proposed, by way of a compromise, that each House could decide and modify its own oath. The

, who had long opposed the admission of Jews, agreed to this. A prominent Jew, Lionel Nathan Rothschild, was thus allowed to enter the House of Commons and was sworn in on 26 July 1858. Although Lucan never again saw active duty, he was promoted to

on 24 December 1858, and, having become colonel of the

1st Regiment of Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated w ...

on 27 February 1865, he was to promoted to general on 28 August 1865 and advanced to

Knight Grand Cross of the 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 one ...

in 1869. He formally retired in October 1877, but after some lobbying he was promoted to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

on 21 June 1887. He died at 13 South Street, Park Lane, London, on 10 November 1888 and was buried at Laleham in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

Family

In 1829, Bingham married Lady Anne Brudenell, seventh daughter of

Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan (25 April 1760 – 14 August 1837) was an English peer and Member of Parliament. Early life Robert Brudenell was born in Westminster, the posthumous son and heir of Colonel the Hon. Robert Brudenell and ...

; they had six children, two daughters being still born or dying soon after birth: * Charles, 4th Earl of Lucan. He was married to Cecilia Catherine Gordon-Lennox the daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond. They had issue. *Augusta (7 February 1832 – 3 July 1888), married her cousin Henry Sturt, 1st Baron Alington on 10 September 1853, and had issue. *Lavinia (circa 1836 – 15 September 1864), married

Charles Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge Charles Stewart Hardinge, 2nd Viscount Hardinge (2 September 1822 – 28 July 1894), was a British Conservative politician. Hardinge was the son of Field Marshal Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, and Lady Emily Jane Stewart, daughter of ...

MP for Downpatrick on 10 April 1856, and had issue. *Rear-Admiral Richard (6 January 1847 – 12 November 1924), married Mary Elizabeth Cole the paternal great-granddaughter of

Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby PC (1 September 1752 ( O.S.) – 21 October 1834), usually styled Lord Stanley from 1771 to 1776, was a British peer and politician of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He held office ...

and maternal granddaughter of Henry Brooke Parnell, 1st Baron Congleton.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucan, George Bingham, 3rd Earl of 1800 births 1888 deaths 17th Lancers officers 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War British field marshals British Life Guards officers Irish representative peers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Lord-Lieutenants of Mayo Politicians from County Mayo Bingham, George Bingham, Lord Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers Bingham, George Bingham, Lord UK MPs who inherited peerages People educated at Westminster School, London Burials in Surrey Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Earls of Lucan Military personnel from London Bingham Baronets, of Castlebar