General Sir David Colyear, 1st Earl of Portmore KT

David Colyear was born around 1656 the son of Sir Alexander Robertson of the family of Strowan, Perthshire. He settled in Holland where he acquired considerable property and adopted the name Colyear. In 1674 he was commissioned into the Dutch army under William of Orange, serving in Ireland so that he was appointed Governor of Limerick in 1691. He was created Lord Portmore on 1 June 1699, raised in April 1703 to 1st Earl. In 1702 he was promoted to major-general and appointed Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Foot in Feb 1703. In that year he married Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorcheter who achieved fame as the mistress of King James II. They had two sons, David Viscount Mislington, and Charles, 2nd Earl of Portmore.
The 1st Earl took an active part in the battles of Cadiz and Vigo Bay in the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1710 he was made Commander-in-Chief in Scotland and promoted to General the next year. In 1712 he was fighting in Flanders and later that year named as a Privy Councillor and Knight of the Thistle. In August 1713 he was appointed Governor of Gibraltar and later chosen to be one of the 16 representative peers of Scotland. On 21 April 1714 he was Colonel of the Scots Greys, until 14 Feb 1717. In 1727 Gibraltar was besieged and he sailed out there to take command of the garrison. But the siege was raised at the approach of the 11 naval ships. He died on 2 Jan 1730. The portrait was painted by John Baptist Medina c1690.

Regimental Details | Colonels