General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Arthur Borton (20 January 1814 – 7 September 1893) 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 who went on to serve as

Governor of Malta A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

from 1878 to 1884.

Early life

Borton was born on 20 January 1814 in

Blofield Blofield is a village and civil parish in the Broadland district of the English county of Norfolk. The parish includes the village of Blofield and the hamlets of Blofield Heath and Blofield Corner. Blofield is located five miles (8 km) ...

, Norfolk where his father John Drew Borton was the rector. His mother was Louisa Carthew one of the daughters of Rev Thomas Carthew of Woodbridge Abbey in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and the Military College, Sandhurst.

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

soldier Collett Leventhorpe was his kinsman.

Military career

Memorial table of the opening of the public park at the San Anton Palace

Borton was commissioned into the

9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

in 1832. He took part in the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 around the Firozpur district of Punjab. It resulted in the defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of Jammu ...

in 1845 and in 1854–55 he commanded the regiment at the siege of Sevastopol during 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 ...

. He became commander of an infantry brigade at

the Curragh The Curragh ( ; ) is a flat open plain in County Kildare, Ireland. This area is well known for horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is on the edge of Kildare town, beside the Irish National Stud#The Japanese Gardens, Japane ...

in Ireland in 1866 and General Officer Commanding the

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

division of the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations manda ...

in 1870. Promoted to full general in 1877, he became

in 1878 before retiring in June 1884. Borton was Colonel of the 1st

West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

from 1876 to 1888 and Colonel of the

Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

from 1889 to 1893. He died, on 7 September 1893 at his residence, 105 Eaton Place, London, and was buried on 9 September at Hunton, near Maidstone, Kent.

Family life

Borton married Caroline Mary Georgina Close in 1850, daughter of Rev John Forbes Close of Morne,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

. They had two sons: Arthur Close Barton, lieutenant-colonel

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Som ...

, father of lieutenant colonel Arthur Drummond Borton VC and air vice-marshal Amyas Eden Borton, and Charles Edward Borton, lieutenant-colonel in the Norfolk Regiment, who served in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

and the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

References

External links

Guide to the Borton Family Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borton, Arthur 1814 births 1893 deaths British military personnel of the First Anglo-Sikh War Military personnel from Norfolk British Army personnel of the Crimean War Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George British Army generals Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People from Blofield Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 3rd class Governors and governors-general of Malta