John Elley
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-General Sir John Elley MP
KCB KCH
KMT and KSG, Governor of Galway and Colonel of the 17th Lancers
(died 23 January 1839) was a British cavalry
officer who fought with distinction in the Napoleonic Wars
.
Harry Smith remembered Sir John as his mentor
in this extract from his autobiography
:
Biographical information about Sir John is scarce, perhaps partly because of his humble origins. John Elley was born in London
, circa 1770. His father ran an eating-house at Furnival's Inn
. Apprenticed to Mr. John Gelderd, a tannery
owner of the village of Meanwood
near Leeds
, Yorkshire
, he became engaged to his masters daughter Anne. After her untimely death, he enlisted, in 1789, as a trooper in the Oxford Blues (Royal Horse Guards
) seeing service in Flanders
(1793–95) India
(1790s), the Peninsula War and the Battle of Waterloo
. He obtained a Lieutenancy in 1796, a Troop
in 1799, was promoted to Major
in 1804, Lieutenant Colonel
in 1808 and Colonel
in 1813. He became a Major General
in 1819 and a Lieutenant General
in 1832.
One famous act of heroism occurred at the Battle of Talavera (1809), as he led the charge
riding a white horse across unknown terrain. A chasm suddenly appeared before him and he was forced to jump it at full gallop. As he wrote in a letter to his sister Mrs Ellis, dated 30 July 1809:
following the war, Sir John held various positions, including Commander of Connaught
, and finally Governor
of Galway
(1827) - this position was not filled after his death. He was presented with the Order of the Bath
by King George IV at Dublin Castle
in August 1822.
He was made Colonel of the 17th Lancers
(Woolwich Depot) on 23 November 1829, replacing Lord Somerset.
He was elected Member of Parliament
for Windsor
in Robert Peel
's Tory
government. In 1836 the Eton & Windsor Gazette complained of the undue influence of the Castle on elections for that seat:
Lodge, Wiltshire
in 1839 and was buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. His tomb includes a bust in black and white marble
. His portrait, held by the National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom), was painted about 1837 as a study for the famous William Salter
painting 'Waterloo Banquet At Apsley House, 1836', which depicts a commemorative banquet held by the Duke of Wellington at his London home on the anniversary of the battle.
Though unmarried, Sir John was believed to have fathered at least one illegitimate son, who, legend has it, emigrated to Van Diemen's Land
(Tasmania
).
In his will, dated 6 April 1838, Sir John left nothing to any member of his family. However, an Isabella Elizabeth Elley, daughter of the Reverend William Gifford Cookesley, of Eton College, was to receive a legacy of £300. The main beneficiary of the will was Sir John's housekeeper, Jane Carter. She was to receive a sizable portion of the contents of his home, a legacy of £2,000 and £300 a year for life. Jane's sister, Mary, was left a sum of £200 and £50 per year and her brother Edward £100 and £25 per year. The Officers Mess of the Horse Guards was to receive a legacy of £300 for the purchase of plate. Various charities also benefited from the will, as follows :-
to the Magdalen Asylum
on the Blackfriars Road
£300; to the Blind Asylum, London Road £300; to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Old Kent Road
£300; to the Orphan Asylum, Clapton
£300; to the Female Orphan Asylum, Westminster
£300; to Saint Georges Hospital, Grosvenor Place £300; to the Westminster
Lying-in
Hospital £300; to the Bethlem Diameter Hospital, Lambeth
£500; to the Society for the Refuge of Destitute Women, Sackville Road £200; to the Institute for the cure of Cancer
s in the Kent Road £250; to the Rector and Corporation of New Windsor £1,000, to be given as loans to necessitous shopkeepers and tradespeople. A further £2,000 was to be used for the support of six poor persons of 54 or more years of age.
|-
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,...
KCB KCH
Royal Guelphic Order
The Royal Guelphic Order, sometimes also referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent . It has not been conferred by the British Crown since the death of King William IV in 1837, when the personal union of the...
KMT and KSG, Governor of Galway and Colonel of the 17th Lancers
17th Lancers
The 17th Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War...
(died 23 January 1839) was a British cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
officer who fought with distinction in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Harry Smith remembered Sir John as his mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
in this extract from his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
:
"The celebrated Cavalry officer, Sir John Elley, a very tall, bony, and manly figure of a man, with grim~visaged war depicted in his countenance, with whiskers, moustaches, etc. like a French Pioneer, came over to DoverDoverDover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
during the time of our occupation of FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was walking on the path, with his celebrated sword belted under his surtoutSurtoutA surtout coat is a man's frock coat, of the kind worn by cavalry officers over their uniforms in the 18th and early 19th centuries. It was occasionally worn by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War....
. As the hooking up of the sword gave the coat-flap the appearance of having something large concealed under it, a lower order of Custom officer ran after him, rudely calling, "I say, you officer, you! stop, stop, I say! What's that under your coat?" Sir John turned round, and drawing his weapon of defence in many a bloody fight, to the astonishment of the John BullJohn BullJohn Bull is a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.-Origin:...
s, roared out through his moustache in a voice of thunder, "That which I will run through your d--d guts, if you are impertinent to me!" - http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/harry/harry28.html
Biographical information about Sir John is scarce, perhaps partly because of his humble origins. John Elley was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, circa 1770. His father ran an eating-house at Furnival's Inn
Furnival's Inn
Furnival's Inn was an Inn of Chancery which formerly stood on the site of the present Holborn Bars building in Holborn, London, England.-History:...
. Apprenticed to Mr. John Gelderd, a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
owner of the village of Meanwood
Meanwood
Meanwood is a suburb and former village of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Origins and History:The name Meanwood goes back to the 12th century, and is of Anglo-Saxon derivation: the Meene wude was the boundary wood of the Manor of Alreton, the woods to the east of Meanwood Beck...
near Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, he became engaged to his masters daughter Anne. After her untimely death, he enlisted, in 1789, as a trooper in the Oxford Blues (Royal Horse Guards
Royal Horse Guards
The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...
) seeing service in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
(1793–95) India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(1790s), the Peninsula War and the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. He obtained a Lieutenancy in 1796, a Troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
in 1799, was promoted to Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in 1804, Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
in 1808 and Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in 1813. He became a Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in 1819 and a Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
in 1832.
One famous act of heroism occurred at the Battle of Talavera (1809), as he led the charge
Charge (warfare)
A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history...
riding a white horse across unknown terrain. A chasm suddenly appeared before him and he was forced to jump it at full gallop. As he wrote in a letter to his sister Mrs Ellis, dated 30 July 1809:
"More fire I was never in, nor more perils did I escape. I led on one Squadron to the Charge as a forlorn hopeForlorn hopeA forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the leading part in a military operation, such as an assault on a defended position, where the risk of casualties is high....
and out of 80 men I had not a dozen left – a very severe List of Killed and Wounded you will see by the GazetteLondon GazetteThe London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
– It will be great Satisfaction to my good old Father to Know that I had during the action a very conspicuous share, and in which I had the good Fortune to Succeed to the intense Satisfaction of the General Officers..." - http://berryhillsturgeon.com/BSL/BritishMilitary/PeninsularWar/Talaveras1809/Talaveras1809.html
Battle of Waterloo
As a Colonel in the Blues Sir John was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General of Cavalry at Waterloo. He was severely wounded in the battle. Sir Walter Scott, in "Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk", described his feats at the attack of Mont St. Jean, a ridge to the south of the village of Waterloo:
"Sir John Elley, who led the charge of the heavy brigade, was himself distinguished for personal prowess. He was at one time surrounded by several of the cuirassiers; but, being a tall and uncommonly powerful man, completely master of his sword and horse, he cut his way out, leaving several of his assailants on the ground, marked with wounds, indicating the unusual strength of the arm which inflicted them. Indeed, had not the ghastly evidence remained on the field, many of the blows dealt upon this occasion would have seemed borrowed from the annals of knight-errantry, for several of the corpses exhibited heads cloven to the chine, or severed from the shoulders."
Post-War Career
Sent to IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
following the war, Sir John held various positions, including Commander of Connaught
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
, and finally Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
(1827) - this position was not filled after his death. He was presented with the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
by King George IV at Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
in August 1822.
He was made Colonel of the 17th Lancers
17th Lancers
The 17th Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War...
(Woolwich Depot) on 23 November 1829, replacing Lord Somerset.
He was elected 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,...
for Windsor
Windsor (UK Parliament constituency)
Windsor is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In its modern form, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...
in Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
's Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
government. In 1836 the Eton & Windsor Gazette complained of the undue influence of the Castle on elections for that seat:
"It is well known in this Borough there are a number of Electors who hold situations in the Royal
Establishment, but who reside in the town. At the election of Members of
Parliament those men - footmen, pages, and other - have been generally
rendered subservient to Tory purposes. They are men who are permitted to have
no opinion of their own, but are commanded by some one or other of their
superiors in the Establishment of Their Majesties, to vote in a certain way.
This it was that occasioned the return of Sir John Elley at the last election,
who is frequently a guest at the Castle, and who of course obtains the
influence of the many Tory hangers-on of the Court."
Death and legacy
Sir John Elley died at his country seat CholdertonCholderton
Cholderton is a village in the Bourne Valley of Wiltshire, England, close to the border with Hampshire.Cholderton Charlie's Farm, one of 16 Rare Breeds Survival Trust approved farm parks, is located here.-External links:****...
Lodge, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
in 1839 and was buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. His tomb includes a bust in black and white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. His portrait, held by the National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom), was painted about 1837 as a study for the famous William Salter
William Salter (artist)
William Salter was an English portrait painter of the 19th century. His best known work was a painting of 83 people at a banquet in 1836 organised by the Duke of Wellington to celebrate their victory at the Battle of Waterloo...
painting 'Waterloo Banquet At Apsley House, 1836', which depicts a commemorative banquet held by the Duke of Wellington at his London home on the anniversary of the battle.
Though unmarried, Sir John was believed to have fathered at least one illegitimate son, who, legend has it, emigrated to Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
).
In his will, dated 6 April 1838, Sir John left nothing to any member of his family. However, an Isabella Elizabeth Elley, daughter of the Reverend William Gifford Cookesley, of Eton College, was to receive a legacy of £300. The main beneficiary of the will was Sir John's housekeeper, Jane Carter. She was to receive a sizable portion of the contents of his home, a legacy of £2,000 and £300 a year for life. Jane's sister, Mary, was left a sum of £200 and £50 per year and her brother Edward £100 and £25 per year. The Officers Mess of the Horse Guards was to receive a legacy of £300 for the purchase of plate. Various charities also benefited from the will, as follows :-
to the Magdalen Asylum
Magdalen Asylum
Magdalene asylums were institutions from the 18th to the mid-20th centuries ostensibly for "fallen women", a term used to imply sexual promiscuity....
on the Blackfriars Road
Blackfriars Road
Blackfriars Road is a road in Southwark, SE1. It runs between St George's Circus at the southern end and Blackfriars Bridge over the River Thames at the northern end, leading to the City of London. Halfway up on the west side is Southwark tube station, on the corner with The Cut...
£300; to the Blind Asylum, London Road £300; to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Old Kent Road
Old Kent Road
The Old Kent Road is a road in South East London, England and forms part of Watling Street, the Roman road which ran from Dover to Holyhead. The street is famous as the equal cheapest property on the London Monopoly board and as the only one in South London....
£300; to the Orphan Asylum, Clapton
Lower Clapton
Lower Clapton is a district within the London Borough of Hackney.It is immediately adjacent to central Hackney - bounded, roughly, by the western side of Hackney Downs , the Lea Valley , Clifden Road and the Lea Bridge Road...
£300; to the Female Orphan Asylum, Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
£300; to Saint Georges Hospital, Grosvenor Place £300; to the Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
Lying-in
Lying-in
Lying-in is an old childbirth practice involving a woman resting in bed for a period of time after giving birth. Though the term is now usually defined as "the condition of a woman in the process of giving birth," it previously referred to a period of bed rest required even if there were no...
Hospital £300; to the Bethlem Diameter Hospital, Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
£500; to the Society for the Refuge of Destitute Women, Sackville Road £200; to the Institute for the cure of Cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
s in the Kent Road £250; to the Rector and Corporation of New Windsor £1,000, to be given as loans to necessitous shopkeepers and tradespeople. A further £2,000 was to be used for the support of six poor persons of 54 or more years of age.
External links
- Portrait (National Gallery)
- Medals
- Description in Harry Smith's autobiography
- The Cholderton Estate, including the Lodge
- Jpeg of The Waterloo Banquet by William Salter
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