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George Wyndham was born illegitimately on 5 June 1787, the son of George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont and Elizabeth Ilive. His father was separated from his first wife when young George was born, and married Elizabeth in July 1801. The Earl had 5 children by Elizabeth before they were married, and one child in 1803, after the marriage. George was the eldest son and first served in the Royal Navy at the age of 12. At the age of 15 he was a cornet in the 5th Dragoon Guards.
The portrait was painted by Sir William Beechey RA, in Jan 1813 and shows George, in the middle, in the uniform of the 20th Light Dragoons with his younger brothers on either side. To the left of the picture is the standing figure of Henry Wyndham in the uniform of an ADC to the Commander-in-Chief. He fought at Waterloo and later became a general. The seated figure on the right is Charles Wyndham in the uniform of the 10th Hussars. George is holding a plan of Cuidad Rodrigo where he commanded the 12th Light Dragoons on 18 Jan 1812. The portrait was featured in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research vol XXXVII no. 152 (Dec 1959). The article was written by John and Boris Mollo in which they thanked the Hon John Wyndham the owner of the painting which at that time hung at Petworth House in Sussex. George became 1st Baron Leconfield on 14 April 1859. He was married to Mary Fanny Blunt in 1815 and they had 9 children. He died on 18 Mar 1869. He held several staff appointments and served in many different units:
1799 Midshipman on HMS Amelia |
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