Sir Walter Vane

Sir Walter Vane was born on 6th Oct 1619. He entered the service of the Netherlands United Provinces and fought for them against the Spanish during the 80 Years War. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and commanding officer of one of the four English regiments in Dutch service in 1665, Lord Craven's Regiment. When these regiments were disbanded he, along with most of the officers and men, refused to swear the oath of allegiance to the Dutch States and returned to England. He at first commanded a Troop of Horse in a newly raised regiment but that was disbanded and he was given command of a company in the King's Regiment of Foot Guards (Grenadier Guards). When Colonel Robert Sidney died suddenly in 1668 Sir Walter was appointed Colonel of the Holland Regiment (The Buffs), serving mostly on ships engaged against the Dutch. During the Third Anglo-Dutch War of 1672-74 the Dutch still wanted to enroll English troops in their army and negotiated with King Charles II to allow this. He allowed Sir Walter to accept a commission as major-general to command the English regiments in Dutch service. His commission was dated 12th Dec 1673, at which time he left the Buffs as their Colonel and was replaced by the Earl of Mulgrave. Many of the men in Sir Walter's new command had served under him in the Holland Regiment but had been discharged when that regiment was reduced. Sir Walter's new service with the Dutch was short lived because he was killed at the battle of Seneffe on 11th Aug 1674, where the French general Le Grand Conde fought an indecisive but bloody action against the Dutch under William of Orange.