Major-General Welbore Ellis Doyle (1758 – 2 January 1798) was the third

Military Governor of British Ceylon The governor of Ceylon was the representative in British Ceylon, Ceylon of the British The Crown, Crown from 1795 to 1948. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Ceylon, Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief o ...

. He was appointed on 1 January 1797 and was Governor until 2 July 1797. He was succeeded by Peter Bonnevaux.

Military service

Doyle was born in 1758 in Dublin, the fifth son of Charles and Elizabeth Doyle of Bramblestown, County Kilkenny, and a younger brother of John Doyle. Doyle joined the army in 1770 as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the

55th Regiment of Foot The 55th Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1755. After 1782 it had a county designation added, becoming known as the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 34th (Cu ...

, and was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in September 1773. He served in North America with his brother from 1775, seeing action in the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and was elevated to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the 55th in November 1777. Under Rawdon he served at the

Battle of Camden The Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780), also known as the Battle of Camden Court House, was a major victory for the Kingdom of Great Britain, British in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. On August 16, 1780, British forces ...

, 25 April 1781, after leading a small force to raid Snow Island in March. He sailed back to Great Britain with his brother and Rawdon later that year, but was captured en route by the French fleet, to be later exchanged. Doyle was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 105th Foot (former "

Volunteers of Ireland The Volunteers of Ireland, also known as the 2nd American Regiment and the 105th Regiment of Foot, was a British Provincial military unit, raised for Loyalist service, during the American Revolutionary War, which was later added to the British r ...

") in March 1782, but placed on half-pay after the peace. He was Military Envoy to Poland and Warsaw during the 1780s. Doyle was made lieutenant-colonel of the

14th Regiment of Foot 14 (fourteen) is the natural number following 13 and preceding 15. Mathematics Fourteen is the seventh composite number. Properties 14 is the third distinct semiprime, being the third of the form 2 \times q (where q is a higher prime). ...

in March 1789, and commanded the regiment in the Flanders Campaign under the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

in 1793. He distinguished himself at the

Battle of Famars The Battle of Famars was fought on 23 May 1793 during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. An Allied Austrian, Hanoverian, and British army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeated the French Army of the North l ...

22 May by leading an attack on an entrenched camp. After an initial rebuff from a French force that could be heard playing the patriotic march "

Ça Ira Ça Ira (; French: "It'll be fine") is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790. It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain. Original version The original word ...

" to urge on its men, Doyle ordered his own men to strike up the same tune, saying "We'll beat them to their own damned tune". The position was taken and the 14th were ordered by York to henceforth use "Ça Ira" as their marching tune in honour of the occasion. Doyle was appointed brigadier-general in November 1794, and promoted major-general in February 1795. After the evacuation from Holland he joined the Royalist survivors of the invasion of France at the

Île d'Yeu Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino ...

with 4 British foot regiments and 3 Royalist cavalry units from September, commanding the total 5,000 men. He commanded the attack on Hedic and

Houat Houat (; , ) is a French island off the south coast of Brittany in the department of Morbihan. It is located, along with two other major islands, in the entrance to the Baie de Quiberon. Its "twin sister" island is Hoëdic. Administratively ...

in August. Eventually this force was obliged to withdraw due to serious supply problems after the failure of the

War in the Vendée The War in the Vendée () was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that took place in the Vendée region of French First Republic, France from 1793 to 1796, during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately so ...

to raise support. Doyle was appointed colonel of the

53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot The ''53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 85th (King's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. Histor ...

in November 1796. He was then dispatched to India, spending some time at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

. Appointed Military Commander in Chief at Ceylon after his arrival on 1 January 1797, he died there suddenly on 2 January 1798, aged 39.Dictionary of National Biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Welbore Ellis 1758 births 1797 deaths Military personnel from Dublin (city) 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Governors of British Ceylon British expatriates in Sri Lanka British Army major generals British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars General Officers Commanding, Ceylon British people in colonial India

Military service

Further reading

References