General William Wylde CB (12 March 1788[1] – 14 April 1877) was Master Gunner, St James's Park, the most senior ceremonial position in the Royal Artillery after the Sovereign.

William Wylde
William Wylde, 1861 photograph
Born12 March 1788
Died14 April 1877
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
RankGeneral
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath

Military career edit

Wylde was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1803[2] and rose through the officer ranks to become a Lieutenant-General in 1863.[3] In the First Carlist War, he was British Commissioner to the Christinist Army, and played a significant role as artilleryman in relieving the siege of Bilbao by Carlist forces.[4]

He was made Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery in 1863[5] and promoted to full General in 1866,[6] and then held the position of Master Gunner, St James's Park from 1868.[7]

He was also a Groom of the Bedchamber to the Prince Consort.[8]

He died in 1877[9] and is buried in Brompton Cemetery in London.[8]

 
Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London

Family edit

Wylde was a member of a Nottinghamshire family, the second son of Gervas Wylde and Catherine née Shudall. He married Eleanor MacCutcheon and they had three sons and three daughters. Eldest son William Henry Wylde (1819–1909) of Chiswick distinguished himself in the Foreign Office.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Sir Bernard Burke. A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain
  2. ^ "No. 15619". The London Gazette. 10 September 1803. p. 1198.
  3. ^ "No. 22717". The London Gazette. 17 March 1863. p. 1515.
  4. ^ James, William Hill (1905). "A tandem-trip in Spain : from Biarritz through the Basque provinces ; The country and the people". Edinburgh : M'lagan & Cumming. pp. 24–5.
  5. ^ "No. 22705". The London Gazette. 6 February 1863. p. 643.
  6. ^ "No. 23162". The London Gazette. 14 September 1866. p. 5031.
  7. ^ Royal Artillery at Regiments.org at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 January 2008)
  8. ^ a b Funerary Monument, Brompton Cemetery
  9. ^ "No. 24461". The London Gazette. 22 May 1877. p. 3267.
Honorary titles
Preceded by Master Gunner, St James's Park
1868–1877
Succeeded by