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 ...

James Rooke ( – 4 October 1805) was an English general in the

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 ...

and a politician.

Early life

He was the only son of Major James Rooke and his wife, Jane, daughter and heiress of Tracy Catchmay of Bigsweir House, Monmouthshire. He inherited large estates in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

from his mother.

Career

Rooke joined the army in 1759, and by 1779 was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the

14th Foot The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army. In 1958 it amalgamated with the East Yorkshire Regiment (15th Foot) to form the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire which was, ...

. He was promoted colonel in 1780, major-general in 1787 and served as colonel commandant of the 4th Battalion, 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot from 1788 to 1796. In 1796 he was given the colonelcy of the

38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1705. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the South Staffordshire Reg ...

for life and promoted to full

in 1802. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for

from 1785 until his death.

Personal life and death

Rooke married Elizabeth Brown of

St Briavels St Briavels (pronounced ''Brevels'', once known as 'Ledenia Parva' (Little Lydney)), is a medium-sized village and civil parish in the Royal Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire, England; close to the England-Wales border, and south of Colefo ...

on 3 September 1776. Rooke died at age 63 and was buried in St Briavels, Gloucestershire in 1805.

References

, - 1742 births 1805 deaths British Army generals Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 West Yorkshire Regiment officers {{British-Army-bio-stub