Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner
Encyclopedia
General Sir Hilgrove Turner GCH
(1764–1843) is best known as the officer who escorted the Rosetta Stone
from Egypt to England.
when it made its way to England. He claimed that he had personally seized the Stone from General Jacques-François Menou
and carried it away on a gun carriage. He also asserted that when the French learned of his intentions, that they removed the packaging for the Stone and that "it was thrown upon its face". There are other versions of how the English forces captured the Stone from the French, so it is unknown how reliable his account is. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in December 1804.
He would later become Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
from 1814 to 1816 and Governor of Bermuda
from 1826 to 1832, and in 1827 became a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order.
In 1839 his daughter Charlotte Esther Turner married Henry Octavius Coxe
, Bodleian librarian.
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...
(1764–1843) is best known as the officer who escorted the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
from Egypt to England.
Military career
Turner and the Stone were on-board the recently captured French ship HMS EgyptienneHMS Egyptienne (1799)
Égyptienne was a French frigate launched at Toulon in 1799. Her first service was in Napoleon's Egyptian campaign of 1801, in which the British captured her at Alexandria. She famously carried the Rosetta Stone to Woolwich, and then the Admiralty commissioned her into the Royal Navy as the 40-gun...
when it made its way to England. He claimed that he had personally seized the Stone from General Jacques-François Menou
Jacques-Francois Menou
Jacques-François de Menou, baron de Boussay was a French general under Napoleon I of France. Born Jacques Menou in Boussay on 3 September 1750, he died in Mestre in the Veneto on 13 August 1810...
and carried it away on a gun carriage. He also asserted that when the French learned of his intentions, that they removed the packaging for the Stone and that "it was thrown upon its face". There are other versions of how the English forces captured the Stone from the French, so it is unknown how reliable his account is. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in December 1804.
He would later become Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown....
from 1814 to 1816 and Governor of Bermuda
Governor of Bermuda
The Governor of Bermuda is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
from 1826 to 1832, and in 1827 became a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order.
In 1839 his daughter Charlotte Esther Turner married Henry Octavius Coxe
Henry Octavius Coxe
Henry Octavius Coxe was an English librarian and scholar.The eighth son of Rev. Richard Coxe & Susan Smith, he was educated at Westminster School and Worcester College, Oxford...
, Bodleian librarian.