Colonel John Leslie CB


John Thomas Leslie was born in 1803 and entered Addiscombe in early 1818 at the age of 15. He was commissioned into the Bombay Horse Artillery as a Second Lieutenant on 16 June 1820, advancing to lieutenant almost immediately. He was placed initially in the 3rd Troop as QM and adjutant but by 1830 he was in the 1st Troop. He was a captain in 1833 and led the Troop in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. He distinguished himself at the battle of Hyderabad on 23 Mar 1843 and his horse gunners were allowed to be called Leslie’s Troop on official documents. They were also permitted to bear the Eagle badge and later known as The Eagle Troop. Colonel Leslie returned to England in Sep 1844 employed as recruiting officer in Newry Co Armagh until 1849 when he became Second in Command of Warley Depot. He commanded the Depot from 1850 to 1861 and in that year retired to Sussex. The portrait, painted in 1854 shows him with two medals, for service in Afghanistan and Hyderabad.


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