William Eyre (major-general)
Encyclopedia

Biography

Eyre was educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...

; commissioned as an ensign in 1823. He received company in the 73rd regiment in 1829. Ten years later he was a major.

He served in Cape Frontier War of 1847 and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel the same year. In the Cape Frontier War of 1851 he defeated Xhosa at the battle of Quibigui River and the battle of Committees Hill. The next year he was awarded C.B., served as aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...

to Queen Victoria, and was promoted to 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 1854 he fought in Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 and was promoted to major-general. In 1855 he was made K.C.B. and the following year, 1856 was decorated by France and Turkey. Later that year he was appointed to command the forces in Canada. His health had been broken during the Crimean War and he resign due to ill health in June 1859. He died in the September of that year.

Reference

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