Major Sir Nicholas Gosselin (12 February 1839 – 4 February 1917) was an Irish military officer and intelligence agent.

Life

Gosselin was born in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Devon, the second son of Major Nicholas Gosselin of

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...

, Ireland. He entered 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 ...

at the age of 16, serving in the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot and the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

before becoming the

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the Cavan Militia.Obituary: p. 159, ''The Annual Register: a review of public events at home and abroad, for the year 1917''. London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1918. He was appointed a

resident magistrate A resident magistrate is a title for magistrates used in certain parts of the world, that were, or are, governed by the British. Sometimes abbreviated as RM, it refers to suitably qualified personnel—notably well versed in the law—brought int ...

in the West of Ireland 1882. In May 1883, he was seconded to the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

and given control of the newly formed

Special Irish Branch Special Branch was a unit in the Metropolitan Police in London, formed as a counter-terrorism unit in 1883 and merged with another unit to form Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) in 2006. It maintained contact with the Security Service (MI5) and ...

, with the initial remit of gathering intelligence on

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

organisations operating in Glasgow and northern England. He remained nominally a magistrate during his time at the Home Office – described officially as "employment on special duty" – but did not carry out any of the associated duties nor was he paid for the post. He retired in 1904 and died in West Mailing, Kent, aged 77.

Family

On 2 Feb 1865 he married Catherine Rebecca 'Kate' Haslett, eldest daughter of William Haslett, Esquire, J.P. Londonderry and of Carrownaffe Lodge, Moville.Dublin Evening Mail 07 February 1865

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gosselin, Nicholas 1839 births 1917 deaths British intelligence operatives People from County Cavan British Militia officers 39th Regiment of Foot officers Royal Welch Fusiliers officers