William Strode (1698–1776) was a British Army officer. He was

Colonel in Chief Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in an army regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family. Some armed forces take a light-hearted approach to ...

of the

62nd Regiment of Foot 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics A six-sided polygon is a hexagon, one of the three regular polygons capable of tiling the plane. A hexagon a ...

from 1758 until 1776.

Life

He joined the British Army in 1716. At the creation of the Wiltshire Regiment (62nd Regiment of Foot) in 1758. he was created its first commander. In 1760 with Lt Col John Jennings he was charged with holding

Carrickfergus Castle Carrickfergus Castle (from the Irish ''Carraig Ḟergus'' or "cairn of Fergus", the name "Fergus" meaning "strong man") is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of B ...

which on 23 February was attacked by a French force of 600 men. In 1763, he was posted with his regiment to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

before joining General Howe in Canada. In 1770 he paid for the erection of a monument to the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public square, public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square ...

. The statue was removed from the pedestal in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and has now been lost. In 1772 he was based with his regiment in

Oughterard Oughterard () is a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore of Lough Corrib in Connemara, County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located about northwest of Galway on the N59 road (Ireland), N59 road. ...

in western Ireland. In July 1773 he moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and in August 1774 to Cork. In July 1775 he moved briefly to

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

and soon after to Ballinroabe. In October 1775 he returned to Ballyshannon where he was joined by Lt Col John Anstruther. In 1772 he was

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

led for failing to adequately clothe his regiment. He was found not guilty but asked to reimburse any man who had to pay for his own uniform. On 31 December 1775 he was posted to Galway. He died in Galway on 14 January 1776. His body was returned to England and he is buried in the nave of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

the supreme accolade. His tomb id designed by Richard Hayward.Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis Valentine Jones became Colonel in Chief following his death and the regiment was reposted to North America to fight in the Revolutionary War.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strode, William 1698 births 1776 deaths British Army lieutenant generals Burials at Westminster Abbey Wiltshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War British Army personnel who were court-martialled