Major General Robert Carey (12 December 1821 – 25 January 1883) was an officer of 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 served as colonel in the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

Biography

Youth

Robert Carey was born to Octavius Carey and Harriot Hirzel Carey (née Le Marchant) of

Castel, Guernsey Castel /kætel/ (Guernésiais: Lé Casté; French: Sainte-Marie-du-Câtel) is the largest parish in Guernsey in terms of area. The parish has clear evidence of changes in ancient sea-levels, with trunks of an oak forest visible on Vazon beach a ...

on 12 December 1821. He was educated there at Elizabeth College from 1833 to 1834.

Afghanistan and Punjab

In 1839 he was gazetted as an Ensign in the 40th Regiment. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1841, and from 1841 to 1842 served in the

Afghan war War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in t ...

with Sir William Nott's force, taking part in the actions of

Bolan Pass Bolan Pass () is a valley and a natural gateway through the Toba Kakar range in Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is situated south of Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The pass is an stretch of the Bolan River valley from Rindli in the ...

Khojak Pass Khojak Pass (el. ) is a mountain pass connecting Qila Abdullah with Chaman in the province of Baluchistan, Pakistan. The road through the Toba Achakzai range connects the larger cities of Quetta, Pakistan, and Kandahar, Afghanistan. * Khojak r ...

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

, Ghuznee, and

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

. He participated in the relief of Killar Shilgie, the occupation of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, and in further actions at Kabul and

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...

( Punjab and First Sikh War). He was awarded clasps for Kandahar, Ghuznee and Kabul, and received the 1842 Afghan medal.

Crimea

Carey was promoted to captain in 1847, and in 1854 served in the Crimean War as the Acting Quartermaster-General with the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

Contingent, and then commanding a

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

( Brevet of Major). He was awarded the 4th class Medjidie and the Turkish medal.

Promotions and marriage

He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1856, and on 31 December of that same year married Caroline Le Marchant, with whom he had three sons; Robert, Denis and Walter. In 1859 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel.

Australia and New Zealand

Carey served as Deputy Adjutant General (DAG) in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1860, and served in the

of 1860–1861 in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

where he was recognised for his services as a

Companion in the Most Honourable Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

. He was DAG for the forces in the

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

district in 1863, and was promoted to Colonel for the action of

Rangiriri Rangiriri is a rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Waikato River near Lake Waikare in the Waikato District. State Highway 1 now bypasses Rangiriri. Rangiriri was the s ...

in the

Invasion of the Waikato The invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

of 1863–1865, and also in the actions at

Paterangi Paterangi is a settlement in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located 10 km northwest of Te Awamutu. It is close to the site of one of the most strongly fortified pā built during the New Zealand wars of the late 19th ...

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato, Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipā District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south ...

, Orakau, Pukehinahina and Mukimam. He was involved in the Campaign of 1866, including the capture of Otapawa and

, and operations around Mount Egmont in the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who ei ...

, and was awarded a medal.

Retirement

Carey retired as major general in 1866. He served as deputy

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

at headquarters from 1870 to 1882, and was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award.

Death

Carey died on 25 January 1883, aged 61.

References

* The History of the Carey Family of Guernsey A.D. 1393–2007 website: Gallery
Robert Carey Ee3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Robert 1821 births 1883 deaths Guernsey people British Army major generals Companions of the Order of the Bath British military personnel of the First Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the First Anglo-Sikh War British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars 19th-century New Zealand military personnel Military leaders of the New Zealand Wars People educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey South Lancashire Regiment officers