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Arthur Wellesley was born in Dublin on 1 May 1769. He was the 6th child and 4th son of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington (a Protestant) and Hon Anne Hill. His name at that time was Arthur Wesley, educated in England, at Eton until he was 16, then went to Belgium and France for a year, with his mother (who had no affection for him). His elder brother Richard, 2nd Earl of Mornington and 1st Marquess Wellesley, was Governor-General of India from 1799 to 1805. Arthur’s reputation was greatly enhanced by his military successes in India, especially his defeat of the Maharattas at Assaye in 1803. He then had a series of stunning victories in the Peninsula against the Napoleonic French army which were rewarded with a dukedom. As the Duke of Wellington he crowned his military feats with the victory at Waterloo in June 1815. He served in parliament and was Tory Prime Minister twice, in 1828 and briefly in 1834.
This portrait was presented to the 104th Wellesley’s Rifles by Lieutenant Frederick James Chadwick in 1910. This officer served in the regiment from 14 Nov 1904 as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain on 19 August 1912. At the battle of Shaiba in Mesopotamia, on 13 April 1915, he was operating a machine gun, but he was hit in the groin and the bullet severed an artery. He died in hospital that evening.
The portrait, which according to Lt-Col James’s History of the regiment (published in 1937), was in the Officers’ Mess. It was painted in 1815 or later as it shows Arthur Wellesley in Field Marshal’s uniform, a sash and badge for Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and a medal for Waterloo. He had been created 1st Duke of Wellington on 11 May 1814.
1787 Ensign in 73rd Regiment, 7 Mar
1787 ADC to Lord Lieutenant Ireland, Nov 1787 until Mar 1793
1787 Lieutenant in 76th Regiment, 25 Dec
1788 Transferred to 41st Regiment, 23 Jan
1789 Transferred to 12th Light Dragoons, 25 June
1790 MP (Independent) for Trim until 1797
1791 Captain in 58th regiment, 30 June
1792 Transferred to 18th Light Dragoons, 31 Oct
1793 Major in 33rd Regiment, 30 April
1793 Lieutenant-Colonel in 33rd Regiment, 30 Sep
1794 Fought in Holland, at Boxtel
1796 Colonel, 3 May
1797 Campaigned in India, 4th Mysore War
1798 Changed his name to Wellesley, March
1799 Governor of Segingapatam and Mysore until 1805
1800 Campaign to catch Dhoondia Wagh
1802 Major General, 29 April
1803 Battle of Assaye, 23 Sep
1803 Battle of Argaum, 29 Nov
1803 Storming of Gawilghur, 5 Dec
1804 Appointed KB, 28 Aug
1805 Fighting in Hanover
1806 MP (Tory) for Rye, April-Oct
1807 MP (Tory) for Newport, Isle of Wight, until 1809
1807 Privy Councillor, 8 April
1807 Lord of the Treasury (Ireland), May until Apr 1809
1808 Lieutenant-General, 2 April
1808 Commander-in-Chief in the Portuguese Army, 6 July
1809 Commander-in-Chief of British Army in Portugal, April
1809 Created 1st Viscount Wellington, 4 Sep
1811 General, 31 July
1812 Created 1st Earl of Wellington, 28 Feb
1812 Created 1st Marquess of Wellington, 3 Oct
1813 Appointed Knight of the Garter, 4 Mar
1813 Field Marshal, 21 June
1814 Created 1st Duke of Wellington, 11 May
1815 First Plenipotentiary, Congress of Vienna, Jan-Mar
1815 Appointed GCB, 2 Jan
1815 Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in Europe, 28 Mar
1815 Waterloo, 18 June
1818 Master General of the Ordnance, until 1827
1819 Governor of Plymouth, until 1826
1820 Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, until his death in 1852
1826 Constable of the Tower of London, until his death.
1826 Lord Lieutenant of Tower Hamlets, until his death
1828 Prime Minister, Jan 1828 - Nov 1830
1829 Constable of Dover Castle, until his death
1829 Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, until his death
1834 Prime Minister from Nov to Dec 1834
1834 Foreign Secretary, Dec 1834 to April 1835
1841 Cabinet Minister without office, until 1846
1842 Commander-in-Chief of the Army, until his death
1852 Died at Walmer Castle on 14 September.
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