Lieutenant-Colonel John Luard (1790–1875) was a British Army officer and author of ''History of the Dress of the British Soldier''

Life

He was fourth son of Captain Peter John Luard of the

4th Dragoons Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

, of

Blyborough Blyborough is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 115. It lies on the B1398 road, east from Gainsborough, north from Lincoln and south ...

Kirton-in-Lindsey Kirton in Lindsey, also abbreviated to Kirton Lindsey, is a market town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is south-east from Scunthorpe. History Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII lived at Kirton-in-Lindsey afte ...

, Lincolnshire, and his wife Louisa, daughter of

Charles Dalbiac Charles Dalbiac (1726–1808) was an English Huguenot textile manufacturer. He was High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1784. Life He was son of James D'Albiac, a Huguenot refugee, and younger brother of James Dalbiac (born 1720). In 1763 James and Char ...

Hungerford Park Hungerford Park was a country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned b ...

, Berkshire, born on 5 May 1790. His seven brothers included Henry Luard, a banker (father of the antiquarian

Henry Richards Luard Henry Richards Luard (25 August 1825 – 1 May 1891) was a British medieval historian and antiquary. Biography Luard was born on 25 August 1825 in London, the son of Henry Luard. His uncle was Lt.-Col. John Luard, and his cousins included Lt.-Gen ...

) and Robert (father of the organist

Bertram Luard-Selby Bertram Luard-Selby (12 February 1853 – 26 December 1918) was an English composer and cathedral organist. As an organist, he served in Salisbury Cathedral and Rochester Cathedral. As a composer, he wrote prolifically for the church, the conce ...

). He served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

1802–1807, and on 25 May 1809 obtained a

cornetcy Cornet is a military rank formerly used by the armed forces of some countries. Etymology A ''cornet'' or "cornet of horse" was in the 17th and 18th centuries a term for a group of cavalry (typically 100–300 men), so-called because it was accom ...

without purchase in his father's old regiment. Luard served in the 4th Dragoons through the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

campaigns of 1810–1814, gaining a

Military General Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Military General Service Medal (MGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847 and issued to officers and men of the British Army in 1848.Including officers and men of the King's German Legion, Brunswick Oels and Chasseurs Britanniqu ...

with clasps for the battles of

Albuera La Albuera is a village southeast of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. it had a population of c. 2,000 inhabitants. History It was scene of the Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) between Spanish, Portuguese and British troops under William Carr Beresf ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, and

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. Afterwards he served with the 16th Light Dragoons as lieutenant at the

battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

(

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

), and as captain at Bhurtpoor in 1825–1826 (

Army of India Medal The Army of India Medal (AIM) was a campaign medal approved in 1851 for issue to officers and men of the British Army and the Army of the Honourable East India Company. A retrospective award following the precedent set by the Naval General Servic ...

). Exchanging to the 30th Foot in 1832, Luard retired as major in 1834, and obtained a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy in 1838. He took up sculpture, and chaired the

Farnham School of Art Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the Thame ...

. He died on 24 October 1875, at The Cedars,

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, Surrey, his home.

Works

Like others of his family, Luard was an artist. He published ''Views in India, St. Helena, and Car Nicobar'' (London, 1835), drawn from nature and on stone by himself, and ''History of the Dress of the British Soldier'', published by subscription in 1852. Some of Luard's sketches were used to illustrate ''Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque'' (1850) by

Fanny Parkes Fanny Parkes or Parks (née Frances Susanna Archer) (1794–1875) was a travel writer from Wales, known for her extensive journals about colonial India, where she lived for 24 years. These are recorded in her memoirs ''Wanderings of a Pilgrim in ...

(Fanny Parlby), who had commissioned him as a watercolour artist. In 1851 at the Asiatic Gallery, Baker Street Bazaar,

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. It mar ...

, London, the "Grand Moving Diorama of Hindostan" comprised 60 drawings arranged by Luard. The artists creating the

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

included

Louis Haghe Louis Haghe (17 March 1806 – 9 March 1885) was a lithographer and watercolourist from the Netherlands and then the United Kingdom. His father and grandfather had practised as architects. Training in his teens in watercolour painting, he found ...

, who did the "figures and animals", and

William Adolphus Knell William Adolphus Knell (1801 – 9 July 1875) was an English painter who specialised in marine art. Life Knell was born in 1801 at Carisbrooke on the Isle of Wight. By 1825 had already exhibited his works at the Royal Academy. He soon built up a ...

the "shipping"; the panoramic setting was by Philip Phillips. Luard based the material on his own sketches, and on those of Parkes, and eight others were credited. His sketches formed the basis of the design the

Ghuznee Medal The Ghuznee Medal is a British campaign medal awarded for participation in the storming of the fortress of Ghuznee in Afghanistan, on 21 to 23 July 1839 by troops of the British and Indian Armies. This action, the Battle of Ghazni, took place du ...

, awarded for storming the fortress of Ghuznee during the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...

, although he did not serve in the war himself.

Family

Luard married Elizabeth, second daughter of Colonel Richard Scott, H.E.I.C.S., with whom he had a family. Their children included: * Richard George Amherst Luard (1827–1891), eldest son *John Dalbiac Luard (1830–1860), second son *Frederic Peter Luard (born 1835) *Charles Henry Luard (born 1837), Bengal Engineers and Royal Engineers, (father of

Lowes Dalbiac Luard Lowes Dalbiac Luard (27 August 1872 – 1944) was a British painter. Early life Luard was born in Kolkata, Calcutta, the son of Col. Charles Henry Luard of the Royal Engineers and grandson of Lt.-Col. John Luard. Educated in England, and ...

) *Elisabeth Louisa Luard *Susan Anne Maria Luard

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Luard, John 1790 births 1875 deaths Luard family English artists English writers 4th Queen's Own Hussars officers 16th The Queen's Lancers officers 30th Regiment of Foot officers