John Yorke (British Army officer)

General John Yorke CB (1814–1890) was a British Army officer.

John Yorke
General John Yorke
Born1814
Died1890
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1832–1890
RankGeneral
Unit1st Dragoons
Battles/warsCrimean War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath

Military career

Born the son of Simon Yorke II of Erddig (1771–1834) and Margaret Holland (1778–1848),[1] Yorke was commissioned as a cornet in the 1st (Royal) Regiment of Dragoons on 21 December 1832.[2] He was promoted to lieutenant on 5 December 1834,[3] to captain on 14 December 1841,[4] to major on 4 September 1849[5] and to lieutenant colonel on 4 April 1853.[6]

Yorke was severely wounded as he commanded the 1st (Royal) Regiment of Dragoons when the regiment took part in the charge of the Heavy Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854 during the Crimean War: his leg was shattered and he was disabled for life.[7] Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 10 July 1855,[8] he was promoted to full colonel on 23 March 1856[9] and awarded the Order of the Medjidie, 4th Class, for his role in the war, on 2 March 1858.[10]

In 1861 he acquired Plas Newydd in Llangollen where he lived in retirement, added the black and white features on the exterior and filled the interior with oddities from around the world.[11] He became commandant of the Royal Military Asylum on 1 April 1864.[12] He was promoted to major general on 17 June 1866,[13] to lieutenant general on 1 August 1874[14] and to full general on 1 October 1877.[15]

Yorke served as colonel of the 19th Hussars from 1872[16] to 1889[17] and as colonel of the 1st (Royal) Dragoons from 1889[18] until his death in 1890.[19]

References
  1. "The Geneaology of Erddig House". Micro Residency, Archaeology Team. 16 November 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  2. "No. 19006". The London Gazette. 21 December 1832. p. 2786.
  3. "No. 19218". The London Gazette. 5 December 1834. p. 2206.
  4. "No. 20051". The London Gazette. 14 December 1841. p. 3216.
  5. "No. 21015". The London Gazette. 4 September 1849. p. 2721.
  6. "No. 21408". The London Gazette. 4 February 1853. p. 291.
  7. Kinglake, p. 292-293
  8. "No. 21743". The London Gazette. 10 July 1855. p. 2654.
  9. "No. 21879". The London Gazette. 2 May 1856. p. 1631.
  10. "No. 22107". The London Gazette. 2 March 1858. p. 1252.
  11. "Wales: A tale of two ladies ahead of their time". The Telegraph. London. 4 May 2002. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  12. "No. 22840". The London Gazette. 1 April 1864. p. 1855.
  13. "No. 23135". The London Gazette. 10 July 1866. p. 3929.
  14. "No. 24123". The London Gazette. 18 August 1874. p. 4073.
  15. "No. 24508". The London Gazette. 2 October 1877. p. 5457.
  16. "No. 23857". The London Gazette. 14 May 1872. p. 2306.
  17. Mills, T.F. (2007). "19th Royal Hussars (Queen Alexandra's Own)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008.
  18. "No. 25918". The London Gazette. 5 April 1889. p. 1938.
  19. Mills, T.F. (2007). "The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons)". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.

Sources
  • Kinglake, Alexander William (1908). The Invasion of the Crimea. Vol. 5. Blackwood.
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