Lieutenant General Richard Onslow

Richard Onslow was born in 1697, the second son of Foot Onslow MP. His family purchased his commission into the 11th Regiment, with the rank of Captain, on 14 July 1716. In 1720 he was given the post of Receiver General of the Post Office which brought him an income of 400 pounds pa. In 1719 he exchanged into the 30th Regiment, and then the 15th Regiment in 1721. On 7 July 1724 he was promoted to Captain Lieutenant in the 1st Foot Guards. He served in the defence of Gibraltar in 1727. In that year he was voted MP for Guildford, a seat he held onto until his death in 1760.
Onslow was appointed Colonel of the 39th Regiment on 1 Nov 1731 but transferred to the 8th King’s Regiment on 6 June 1739. While with the regiment he appointed Arthur Young to be chaplain. Young was a religious writer who produced a book on Idolatrous Corruptions in early religion. He was also chaplain to Onslow’s elder brother, Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons. In 1741 Richard Onslow was promoted to brigadier-general and accompanied the army to take part in the War of the Austrian Succession. He fought at Dettingen on 27 June 1743, which brought him promotion to major-general.
On 25 April 1745 Major-General Onslow left the 8th Regiment to take up the appointment of Colonel of the 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. With this regiment he fought at Fontenoy. He was in London when the army was recalled from mainland Europe to fight the Jacobites in 1745. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1747, and in 1752 appointed Governor of Fort William. In 1759 he was moved to be Governor of Plymouth and military commander of the Western District. This was a short-lived post as he died on 16 March 1760. His death was quite high profile as he was at that time presiding over the courts martial of Lord George Sackville for his inexplicable refusal to obey orders at Minden, and Lord Charles Hay for insulting Lord Loudoun. But in the middle of proceedings against Lord Hay Lieutenant General Richard Onslow had a stroke and died.
He was married twice, first to Rose Bridges, Arthur Onslow’s sister-in-law. But she died in 1728. In 1730 he remarried, to Pooley Walton, heiress to her uncle, Admiral Sir George Walton. They had four children, three boys and a girl, all with distinguished careers.

Regimental Details | Colonels