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 ...

William Hampton Parlby was a senior

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 ...

officer, who served in British cavalry regiments in India and the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

Family background

William Parlby was born in India in what was known as the Bengal Presidency in 1801; his parents were Colonel James Templer Parlby, an engineer in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

originally from

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 ...

, and Louisa Munt from London). He was one of five siblings, four of which survived childhood. His grandfather was

Thomas Parlby Thomas Parlby (1727–1802) Stone Hall, Stonehouse, Plymouth, Stonehouse, in Plymouth "the big house overlooking Stonehouse Pool" (since demolished), was a civil engineering contractor described in his obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine as "Mas ...

a master mason and architect from Plymouth. William's mother Louisa was a collector of locally commissioned pictures of scenes of colonial and local life around their residence in India, i.e. the

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...

at Maidapur (near the administrative centre of

Berhampore, West Bengal Berhampore (), also known as Baharampur (), is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. Berhampore is the administrative headquarters of the Murshidabad district. As of 2011 census, Berhampore is the seventh largest city ...

). William Parlby died a bachelor in Hubberston, near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire on 26 October 1881, none of his relatives were named in the will and probate record.

Military career

William Parlby was commissioned as a cornet in the 4th (Queen's Own) Light Dragoons on 3 October 1816; he was promoted to lieutenant on 17 May 1824 and then to captain on 28 September 1826. He is recorded as being a brevet major in 1841 and in 1845. In 1843 he commanded a detachment of his regiment in Wales during the

Rebecca Riots The Rebecca Riots () took place between 1839 and 1843 in West and Mid Wales. They were a series of protests undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers in response to levels of taxation. The rioters, often men dressed as women, took ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the 4th Light Dragoons on 30 January 1846 (by purchase), although he only commanded the regiment for seven months. In terms of his overseas and campaign service, William Parlby served with his regiment in India and then as a colonel he commanded other regiments in India e.g. the 10th (The Prince of Wale's Own) Royal Regiment of Light Dragoons (Hussars) based in Kirkee, India. In 1854 after the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade he was ordered to bring his regiment (then the 10th Hussars) from India to the Crimea (via Egypt), the 680 strong regiment arrived on 15 April 1855 to join Allied troops laying siege to the city of Sebastopol. During the latter stages of the Crimea War he commanded the British Cavalry Division from 17 April to 30 June 1855 and then the Cavalry Division's Hussar Brigade from 1 July to 2 September 1855. He was also present with Turkish forces at the

Battle of the Chernaya The Battle of the Chernaya (also Tchernaïa; Russian: Сражение у Черной речки, Сражение у реки Черной, literally: Battle of the Black River) was fought near the Traktir Bridge on the Chernaya River dur ...

. He was thoroughly involved in cavalry operations around Sevastopol and

Lord Raglan Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops ...

complimented him in despatches. He was awarded the

Crimea Medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–1856 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of ...

with Clasp for Sebastopol, the Sardinian and

Turkish Crimea Medal The Turkish Crimean War Medal () is a campaign medal issued by Sultan Abdulmejid I of the Ottoman Empire to allied military personnel involved in the Crimean War of 1854–56. It was only awarded to those who survived the war and not to next of ...

s and 4th Class

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...

. On home service as a major general he commanded the Cavalry Brigade of the Dublin Division in Ireland, based at Curragh Camp (1860–1861). He was promoted to major general in 1860, then lieutenant general on 21 March 1869 and then promoted to general on 22 May 1876. General Parlby would become the Regimental Colonel of the 21st Regiment of Hussars on 24 October 1865; until on 1 July 1880 he was appointed as Colonel of his old regiment (the 4th (Queens Own) Hussars) a post he was still holding in 1881 when he died (albeit an honorary post).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parlby, William Hampton British Army generals 1801 births 1881 deaths People from the Bengal Presidency British Army personnel of the Crimean War