Henry Torrens (British Army officer, born 1833)
Sir Henry D'Oyley Torrens | |
---|---|
![]() Photograph by Felice Beato, 1858–1859 | |
Born | 24 February 1833 |
Died | 1 December 1889 |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() |
Years of service | 1849 - 1889 |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Battles/wars | Crimean War Indian Mutiny |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of St Michael and St George |
Lieutenant General Sir Henry D'Oyley Torrens KCB KCMG (24 February 1833 – 1 December 1889) was a British Army officer and colonial governor. He was born in Meerut, India, the son of Henry Whitelock Torrens and Eliza Mary Roberts and died in London.
Military career
[edit]Torrens was commissioned as a second Lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in 1849.[1] His rise through the ranks was very rapid, reaching the rank of colonel in 1864.[2]
He served in the Crimean War at the major battles, for which he was awarded the Légion d'honneur,[3] followed by service in India during the Indian Mutiny in 1857.
In 1862, he published a book, Travels in Ladâk, Tartary, and Kashmir, about his summer holiday the previous year.[4]
He was promoted to Major-General in 1869 and finally to Lieutenant-General while serving as General Officer Commanding Cork District in Ireland in 1884.[5]
He went on to be was Governor of Cape Colony in 1886 and Governor of Malta in 1888. He was a keen golfer founding both Royal Cape Golf Club in 1886 and Royal Malta Golf Club in 1888.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/HenryTorrensBrompton01.jpg/300px-HenryTorrensBrompton01.jpg)
Personal life
[edit]In 1876, Torrens married Georgina Frances De Butts in Kensington, London.[6] She was born in 1852, the daughter of Augustus De Butts Jr (1806–1867) and his wife, Hannah Georgeina Elizabeth Inglefield, and granddaughter of General Sir Augustus De Butts.[7] She died in 1918.[8]
He died on 1 December 1889 and the beneficiary of his will was his wife, Georgina Frances Torrens.[9] He is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London. Georgina died in 1918.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "No. 21020". The London Gazette. 18 September 1849. p. 2854.
- ^ "No. 22873". The London Gazette. 12 July 1864. p. 3503.
- ^ "No. 21996". The London Gazette. 1 May 1857. p. 1574.
- ^ Torrens, Henry D'Oyley (1862). Travels in Ladâk, Tartary, and Kashmir. Cornell University Library: Saunders, Otley & Co. (London). pp. Preface.
- ^ "No. 25314". The London Gazette. 1 February 1884. p. 488.
- ^ "Henry Doyly Torrens". England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005. familysearch.org. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Catalogue description DE BUTTS, Augustus 1806-1867". The National Archives. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Georgina Frances Torrens: England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957". Familysearch.org. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Henry D Oyly Torrens: England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957". Familysearch.org. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "Georgina Frances Torrens: England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957". Familysearch.org. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- 1833 births
- 1889 deaths
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Burials at Brompton Cemetery
- Royal Welch Fusiliers officers
- British Army lieutenant generals
- British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857
- Governors of the Cape Colony
- British Army personnel of the Crimean War
- Governors and Governors-General of Malta
- People from Meerut
- Torrens family
- British Army personnel stubs