Edward Wolstenholme Ward
Encyclopedia
Major-General Sir Edward Wolstenholme Ward KCMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 (17 August 1823 – 5 February 1890) was an Indian-born British soldier and Australian politician as well as cricket player.

Background

Born in Calcutta, he was the oldest son of John Petty Ward and his wife Eleanor Erskine, daughter of John Erskine. He was educated at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and joined then the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

 as cadet in 1841.

Career

Shortly after his admission, he got a promotion to second lieutenant and then in 1844 to first lieutenant. After additional studies at the Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London.- History :The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts...

, he began working for the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...

 and became second captain in 1852. Two years later, Ward was send as deputy-master of its oversea branch to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 and was promoted to captain in 1855. In May of the latter year, he was nominated a non-elective member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...

, sitting in it for nine months. He was appointed to the council for life in 1861, however resigned his seat in 1865. Ward was promoted to major in January 1964 and to lieutenant-colonel only few months later. When he rerturned to England in 1866, he was set on halfpay.

In 1869, he became colonel and resumed his old post as deputy-master in a new branch in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

. He was awarded a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

 in 1874 and retired with a pension three years later, having been promoted to major-general. In 1879, he was further honoured as a Knight Commander.

After the founding of the cricket club New South Wales Blues
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...

 in 1856, Ward became one of its first members and played for it until 1861. He was a trustee of the Australian Museum
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...

 and member of the Australian Philosophical Society.

Family

On 21 November 1857, he married Anne Sophia Campbell, daughter of Hon. Robert Campbell
Robert Campbell (Australian politician)
Robert Campbell was an early opponent of penal transportation and an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly....

, and had by her three sons and four daughters. Ward died in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

, aged 66.
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