General Sir Alfred Hastings Horsford GCB (3 April 1816 – 13 September 1885) was a senior British Army officer who went on to be Military Secretary.
General Sir Alfred Horsford | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 3 April 1816[1][2] Bath, Somerset |
| Died | 13 September 1885 Munlochy, Scotland |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1833–1880 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | South-Eastern District |
| Battles / wars | Xhosa Wars Crimean War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
Military career
editHorsford was born in Bath, the son of Maj.-Gen. George Horsford and Mary Ann Brocksopp.[3] He was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1833.[4]
He served in the Cape Frontier War in 1847 and was Commanding Officer of 1st Bn the Rifle Brigade during the 8th Xhosa War in 1852.[4]
He also served in the Crimean War and fought at the Battle of Alma, Battle of Inkerman, Battle of Balaklava and the early part of the Siege of Sevastopol.[4]
He served in the repression of the Indian Mutiny, having been made Commander of the 6th Brigade at the Capture of Lucknow.[5]
He was made Deputy Adjutant-General at Army Headquarters in 1860, a Brigade commander at Aldershot in 1866, Major-General on the General Staff at Malta in 1869 and General Officer Commanding South-Eastern District in January 1872.[6] He went on to be Military Secretary in 1874.[4]
In retirement he was involved in an accident when Frederick Gye, Manager of the Royal Italian Opera, was assisting Horsford over a fence. Horsford's gun went off and shot Gye in the eye.[7]
References
edit- ^ Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813–1914
- ^ UK, Officer Service Records, 1764–1932
- ^ Oliver, Vere Langford (1896). The History of the Island of Antigua: One of the Leeward Caribbees in the West Indies, from the First Settlement in 1635 to the Present Time. Mitchell and Hughes. p. 87. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Horsford, Sir Alfred Hastings (1818–1885), army officer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- ^ Historical Records of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, Page 132
- ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
- ^ General News Bruce Herald, 1879