George Churchill (British Army officer)

George was the illegitimate son of Admiral George Churchill from his relationship with Mary Cooke, of whom little is known. [1] He was thus a nephew of General Charles Churchill and the Duke of Marlborough.

The young Churchill joined the Army as a lieutenant on 12 January 1707.[2] He was promoted to captain in Lord Hertford's Regiment of Foot on 24 March 1712,[1] then transferred to the Coldstream Guards as captain and lieutenant-colonel on 28 September 1715,[3] being further promoted to second major on 5 July 1739[4] and first major on 25 December 1740.[5] He served as lieutenant-colonel of the Coldstream Guards from 1 April 1743[6] until appointed colonel of the 1st Regiment of Marines on 20 September 1745, a post he held until that regiment was disbanded on 11 November 1748. Besides his regimental service, Churchill was promoted brigadier-general on 5 July 1739, major-general on 31 May 1745, and lieutenant-general on 19 September 1747, and was commander of the forces in Scotland from January 1752 until his death on 19 August 1753.[7] At the time of his death he also held the sinecure office of Lieutenant-Governor of Fort St Philip in Minorca.[8]

George married Catherine Hobart (d. 1725), daughter of Sir Henry Hobart, MP, 4th Baronet and Elizabeth Maynard, eldest daughter of Sir Joseph Maynard. They didn't have children.