William Arbuthnot CB


William Arbuthnot was born on 27 Sep 1838. His mother was the Hon Gertrude Sophia daughter of the 1st Viscount Gough. He was educated at Eton and entered the army on 25 Mar 1856 as an ensign in the Rifle Brigade, and went to India to fight in the Indian Mutiny. He exchanged into the 14th Hussars in 1861. He graduated at Staff College and held many staff appointments in the 1860s, and by 1867 he was in Abyssinia serving as ADC and Assistant Military Secretary to Lord Napier, commander of the expedition. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and appointed commanding officer of the 14th on 15 June 1876 being in that post when they went to South Africa in 1881. He became a colonel in that year, and was in the Sudan expedition of 1885 as DAG. He was promoted to major-general on 19 Mar 1890 and died a few years later in Sep 1893. He was buried in Brompton Cemetery. The photo was taken around 1860 when he was a lieutenant. He wears the dark blue frockcoat with black silk flat braiding.


Regimental Details | 14th Hussars Commanding Officers


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