Edward Rooper (25 January 1818 Wick Hall, Furze Hill,

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

- 11 or 15 November 1854

Inkerman Inkerman (; ; ) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but ''de jure'' within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within Ukraine. It lies 5 kilometres (3 miles ...

, Crimea) was an English soldier, landscape painter, and botanical collector and illustrator. He was the fourth son of the Rev. Thomas Richard Rooper (1782-1865) and Persis Standly (1783-1871), with siblings William Henry Rooper, Marianne Rooper, George Rooper, Henrietta Persis Rooper and John Rooper. He was the grandson of John Rooper of

Berkhamsted Castle Berkhamsted Castle is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. The castle was built to obtain control of a key route between London and the Midlands during the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century. Robert of ...

. He received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

on 2 September 1834 and was promoted to Captain on 2 September 1842, and to brevet Major on 26 September 1854. He served in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

with the Rifle Brigade after landing at

Algoa Bay Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located on the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope. Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour ...

on 20 November 1846 and was promptly posted to the Kei where he took part in the Seventh Xhosa War, mainly in the

Amatola Mountains Amatola, Amatole or Amathole are a range of densely forested mountains, situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The word ''Amathole'' means ‘calves’ in Xhosa, and Amathole District Municipality, which lies to the south, is ...

. At the end of hostilities he was appointed Resident Magistrate of

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

on 1 January 1849, a post which he held until June 1850 when he returned to England with his regiment. During this period he had a chance encounter with the explorer and painter,

Thomas Baines (John) Thomas Baines (27 November 1820 – 8 May 1875) was an English artist and explorer of British colonial southern Africa and Australia. Life and work Born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on 27 November 1820, Baines was apprenticed to a coach ...

, inviting him to his headquarters at Fort Glamorgan to see his own paintings which included many botanical illustrations. These paintings came to light in 1956 and were purchased by the Botanical Research Institute of Pretoria as a result of efforts by its librarian, Mary Gunn, following a suggestion by Baines' biographer John Peter Richard Wallis. On 30 March 1852 he landed once again at Algoa Bay and set off for the Amatolas to take part in the Eighth Xhosa War, returning to England on 12 November 1853. In July 1854 he sailed from England with his Regiment for the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

where they arrived 20 September 1854. From a camp near Beicos Bay, the fleet anchorage in the Bosphorus, he wrote a letter to his brother, George Rooper of Lincoln’s Inn: Edward was wounded at the

Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and w ...

on 5 November 1854 and died on 11 or 15 November aboard the troop transport ship ''Golden Fleece'' on its way to the

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

Scutari Scutari may refer to: * Shkodër, in Albania; also known as ''Scutari'' in Italian and traditional English usage * Sanjak of Scutari, Ottoman province centred on the city * Pashalik of Scutari, a semi-independent Albanian state during Ottoman rule ...

. On occasion Edward sent seed and bulbs from South Africa to his father in Brighton, who in turn forwarded interesting items to

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botany, botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew Gardens, Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botan ...

at Kew and

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

at the Chelsea Botanic Garden. Consequently it is Rev. Thomas Richard Rooper who was commemorated in '' Hypoxis rooperi'' T.Moore, and '' Kniphofia rooperi'' (T.Moore) Lem. Memorials to both father and son are to be found on the north wall of St Andrews Church in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

References

External links

'The History of the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own) Formerly the 95th' - Cope, William Henry, Sir, bart., 1811-1892Genealogy of Thomas Richard Rooper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooper, Edward 1818 births 1854 deaths 19th-century English artists British botanical illustrators British illustrators British military personnel killed in the Crimean War British Army personnel of the Crimean War Military personnel from Brighton