John Mostyn (British Army officer)

General John Mostyn (c.1709 – 16 February 1779) was a British soldier, MP and colonial administrator.

John Mostyn
Bornc. 1709
Died16 February 1779
AllegianceKingdom of Great Britain
Service/branchBritish Army
RankGeneral

He was a younger son of Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.

He joined the army as an Ensign in 1733. On 2 September 1743, he was promoted from captain in the 31st Regiment of Foot to captain-lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment of Foot Guards. On 2 April 1745, he was promoted to captain of a company, and was wounded the next month at the Battle of Fontenoy.[1] He served as Groom of the Bedchamber to King George II from 1746 to his death. From 1751 to 1754 he held the colonelcy of the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fuzileers), from 1754 to 1758 that of the 13th Regiment of Dragoons, from 1758 to 1760 that of the 5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons,[2] from 1760 to 1763 that of the 7th (The Queens Own) Regiment of Dragoons and from 1763 to 1779 that of the 1st King's Dragoon Guards. He was promoted to the rank of General in 1772.

Mostyn served as Governor of Menorca for a ten-year period between 1768 and 1778. It was a titular role and Mostyn was not in residence on the island, which meant that his deputy was in effective charge – from 1774 this was James Murray, his eventual successor who was forced to surrender the island in 1782 to a Spanish force.[3]

He died unmarried.

See also

References

  1. Mackinnon, Daniel (1833). Origin and Services of the Coldstream Guards. II. London: Richard Bentley. pp. 482–483.
  2. "5th Royal Irish Lancers". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "James Murray". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 23 January 2016.

Sources

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Henry Finch
Lord James Cavendish
Member of Parliament for Malton
1741–1768
With: Henry Finch 1741–61
Savile Finch 1761–68
Succeeded by
Savile Finch
The Viscount Downe
Military offices
Preceded by
William Hargrave
Colonel of the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fuzileers)
1751–1754
Succeeded by
Lord Robert Bertie
Preceded by
Hon. Henry Seymour Conway
Colonel of the 13th Regiment of Dragoons
1754–1758
Succeeded by
Archibald Douglas
Preceded by
The Viscount Molesworth
Colonel of the 5th (or Royal Irish) Regiment of Dragoons
1758–1760
Succeeded by
Hon. Joseph Yorke
Preceded by
Sir John Cope
Colonel of the 7th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of Dragoons
1760–1763
Succeeded by
Sir George Howard
Preceded by
Humphrey Bland
Colonel of the 1st (The King's) Dragoon Guards
1763–1779
Preceded by
Sir George Howard
Governor of Menorca
1768–1778
Succeeded by
James Murray
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