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 ...

Flower Mocher (c. 1729 – 18 July 1801), was a British army officer who served 50 years in the cavalry. He initially obtained a commission with Hawley's Dragoons then, following 12 years service with the

Horse Grenadier Guards The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to as Horse Grenadiers, were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Troops of ...

, he served 17 years with the

Dragoon Guards Dragoon Guards is a designation that has been used to refer to certain heavy cavalry regiments in the British Army since the 18th century. While the Prussian and Russian armies of the same period included dragoon regiments among their respective I ...

as their Lieutenant Colonel and

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

. Two years before his appointment as a general officer he was made

of the

9th Regiment of Dragoons The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, bu ...

in Ireland. After some years service as deputy to the commander-in-chief Ireland he retired in 1794 shortly before his appointment to the rank of full General.

Family

Various inscriptions record earlier generations of his family in the Edmonton, Middlesex and coastal Dorset localities. These people may be his parents: from a tomb in Edmonton churchyard, "Mary relict of Daniel Mocher, 1759".
On 21 July 1801 ''The Times'' reported under Deaths: "At his seat on

Enfield Chase Enfield Chase is an open space in the London Borough of Enfield, North London. Historically, the name applied to a large common occupying the western part of the ancient parish of Enfield, extending from Monken Hadley in the west to Bulls ...

after a short illness General Flower Mocher, Colonel of the

9th regiment of Dragoons The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, bu ...

." St Andrew's Enfield contains the monumental inscription "General Flower Mocher, died 18th July 1801 aged 72 years. Jane Mocher his widow died 29th April 1811 aged 78 years." Though his wife had a son, also an army officer, from a previous marriage there is no record of surviving children of Mocher.

Army career

Mocher rose progressively up the ranks during his 50-year career from his start as a 15-year-old sub-lieutenant. Less than 3 years later on 4 June 1747 he followed his fellow officers to kiss the King's hand on his appointment as a captain. Made

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

of his own regiment of

dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

at age 45 he retired aged 65 with the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 the battlefield, who was norma ...

being promoted to full

shortly after his retirement.Obituary General Mocher, July 1801, page 678, ''The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle'', Volume 71, Part 2 Appointments gazetted in London: colonel major general lieutenant general general

War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years War

Mocher served at the

battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

in 1745 and there his ability was recognised. He was present at the

battle of Minden The Battle of Minden was a major engagement during the Seven Years' War, fought on 1 August 1759. An Anglo-German army under the overall command of Prussian Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of F ...

on 1 August 1759 and in command of his cavalry regiment but he and his regiment, his rank was Lieutenant-Colonel, were not permitted to take part in the battle by Lord George Sackville for which Sackville was later court-martialled and

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...

. Mocher continued to command the third regiment of dragoon-guards (Sir Charles Howard's Dragoon Guards) in Germany until the peace of 1763.

Ireland

"In 1778 he was on the staff in Ireland and had the command in the province of Munster until the peace of 1783."On Friday last Flower Mocher, Lieutenant General of his Majesty's forces and Colonel of the ninth regiment of dragoons, together with Stephen Fuller Esq of Upper Harley Street Cavendish Square, were unanimously elected Burgesses of the Town of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

; being the two gentlemen named by the Mayor, in consequence of the Corporation presenting him with that privilege as a compliment for his attention to the duties of the office.
News ''General Evening Post'', London, 13 September 1783 – 16 September 1783; Issue 7732 "During part of that time he had 12,000 men under his orders and so well were those orders executed that the 'whiteboys', so called because they wore white smocks or shirts, who were then in formidable force and had been guilty of great depredations and enormous cruelties were kept in total subjection and the country relieved from the fears of internal commotion." "He was again on the staff there in 1792 as lieutenant general and second officer in the course of which year the sole command devolved on him by the absence of the commander-in-chief for the space of several months when the country was seriously alarmed and under apprehension of insurrection on which occasion the General's conduct was such as entitled him to the honour of the

Lord-lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility o ...

's highest approbation and to universal applause." His retirement was signalled by the report from Dublin Castle dated 17 June 1794: "His Majesty has appointed Lieutenant General the Earl of Carhampton to be Lieutenant General upon the staff of Ireland in the room of Lieutenant General Mocher resigned."News. ''Whitehall Evening Post'' London, 24 June 1794 – 26 June 1794; Issue 7178

Note

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mocher, Flower 1720s births 1801 deaths British Life Guards officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession People from the London Borough of Enfield British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War