Lieutenant-General Henry Holmes (February 1703-11 August 1762) was a British army officer and Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP).

The second son of Henry Holmes, an MP and lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, Holmes was commissioned as an ensign

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

 in the 28th Foot in 1721. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1723, captain in 1727, major in 1740, lieutenant-colonel in 1743. It was in 1746 that he is said to have won the favour of the King

George II of Great Britain

George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...

. A military expedition was being planned, and it was widely believed that its destination was to be Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The King questioning the officers when they would be ready to embark, several of them asked for a few weeks leave of absence; but when the King turned to Holmes, he replied "Tomorrow, and whenever your Majesty should require my service." He was immediately promoted to Colonel in charge of a regiment of marines, and duly served in the planned action, although it turned out that it was only to be an assault on the coast of Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

.

Holmes remained a favourite of George II. In 1749, he was appointed Colonel of the 31st Foot, nicknamed the "Young Buffs". He was further promoted to Major-General in 1756 and Lieutenant-General in 1759.

His older brother Thomas

Thomas Holmes, 1st Baron Holmes

Thomas Holmes was an English Member of Parliament, who managed elections in the government interest in the Isle of Wight during the 1750s and 1760s....

 was the government's election manager on the Isle of Wight, eventually rewarded with an Irish peerage

Peerage of Ireland

The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...

 for his services and being allowed almost complete control over the nomination of MPs for five of the island's six Parliamentary seats. In 1741, Henry was elected at Thomas's instigation for Newtown

Newtown (UK Parliament constituency)

Newtown was a parliamentary borough located in Newtown on the Isle of Wight, which was represented in the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

; after one Parliament, he transferred to Yarmouth

Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)

Yarmouth was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

, which he represented for the rest of his life. He was also appointed lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Wight, in 1754, and Commander-in-Chief of Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

.

Holmes's younger brother, Charles Holmes

Charles Holmes (Royal Navy officer)

Charles Holmes was a Rear admiral in the British Navy during the Seven Years War, and was Wolfe's third-in-command during the capture of Quebec in 1759...

, was also an Isle of Wight MP and a distinguished naval leader, third in command during Wolfe's

James Wolfe

Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...

 capture of Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

.