HOUSES AND PASTORAL CARE
COMBERMERE
Stapleton Cotton, Viscount Combermere,
was a dashing cavalry officer known as ‘Lion
d’Or’ thanks to his glittering outfits. He saw service in the Netherlands,
the Cape and against Tipoo Sahib at Seringapatam where he first met
Colonel Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. A cousin of Thomas Graham (later
Lord Lynedoch), John Hope, 4th Earl
of Hopetoun was second in command at Corunna, taking over at
Moore’s death and managing the evacuation with great energy, skill and
compassion.
In time, they were to serve together in the Peninsular War, and
Wellington recognised him to be a zealous but conserving cavalry leader
who did not waste resources. Such confidence was amply expressed
throughout 1810-12, culminating in a Heavy Brigade charge at Salamanca
in July 1812, where Wellington said to his second-in-command, “The day
is yours!” Wellington’s request for Cotton to command the cavalry at
Waterloo was overridden by the Prince Regent, who insisted on Anglesey
as Commander of Barbados, Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, and later in
India, where he stormed Bharatpur, a fort previously thought impregnable. In 1812, he succeeded Lynedoch as second in command to Wellington
in the Iberian Peninsula. “Every day he more convinces me of his worth”
was Wellington’s commendation. He survived the sharpshooters in late
1813 and blockaded the fortress of Bayonne until the end of the war in
1814. Wounds prevented him from accepting the command of forces sent
to America and he was not present at Waterloo. Recalled by Wellington
as “the ablest man in the Peninsular army”, there are no less than four
public statues to this soldierly figure with his high ideal of duty and strong
common sense.
Combermere
Upper Prep: [email protected] Senior: [email protected]
HILL
The Hill is named after Viscount Hill,
commander of the Anglo-Dutch 2nd Corps.
Rowland Hill – Lord Hill (1772-1842) – was universally liked by the soldiers
under his command, he was known as "Daddy Hill" by the troops who
valued and respected his kindness. It was claimed that he used profanity
on only two occasions.
The Hill was opened in 1860 under the first housemaster R Griffith
Esq when boarding school fees were a mere £110. There have been 26
subsequent housemasters; the longest serving being C K Potter Esq who
was resident for 16 years and is currently Secretary of the OW Society.
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HOPETOUN
WELLESLEY
STANLEY
The Stanley name has a long association with
the College. Edward Stanley, the 14th Earl of
Derby, was Prime Minister at the death of the Duke of Wellington, and it
was he who first sketched out a proposal to Queen Victoria for a national
monument to the Duke in the form of a school for the orphans of officers.
He was the first Vice-President and, briefly, President of Wellington College.
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington,
was, in the words of Queen Victoria, “The greatest man this country has
ever produced”. He first saw action in the Netherlands and India, and in
1808 travelled to Portugal. Promoted to General in 1811, he took the war
into Spain in 1812, and, by 1814, France itself.
Six grandsons, all brothers, attended the College and were in the house
now known as the Stanley. The eldest, Edward, later the 17th Earl, gave
immeasurable service as Vice-President, from 1908 to 1941. Secretary
of the State for War, 1916-18, and a frequent and delighted visitor to the
College. He was a benefactor towards the purchase of Derby field, and
the pupils, if not the Master, enjoyed his requests a holiday to celebrate
the victory of his horse the Derby. Further campaigning ended with Napoleon’s abdication, but news of
his escape from Elba in 1815 forced Arthur Wellesley, now Duke of
Wellington, to take up arms once again. At Waterloo, he faced Napoleon
in battle for the first time. Described by the Duke as “A close run thing”,
the allied army successfully held its line in the face of repeated assaults; the
arrival of the Prussians decided the affair. A less glorious political career
followed, with the Duke attracting criticism for his staunch opposition to
reform, but as political passions dissipated, his reputation recovered and
on his death he was accorded the rare honour of a state funeral.
Hopetoun
Upper Prep: [email protected] Stanley
Upper Prep: [email protected] Wellesley
Upper Prep: [email protected]
Senior: [email protected] Senior: [email protected] Senior: [email protected]
LYNEDOCH
Until the age of 43, Thomas Graham,
Baron Lynedoch, lived the life of a country
gentleman, dedicating his time to managing his estates and hunting.
However, after the death of his beloved wife and desecration of her
coffin by French revolutionary soldiers, he took up arms to seek revenge.
He saw action in Italy – at one point slipping, disguised, through the siege
of Mantua during a snowstorm on order to get help for the city – as well
as Malta and Egypt.
NEW HOUSES FOR 2019-2020
The Hardinge and the Orange are new houses for 2019-2020 in the
Pre-Prep and Lower Prep and will move into the Upper Prep in
August 2020 then into the Senior School.
Present at the death of Moore at Corunna, he continued in the Peninsula
by defending Cadiz, and going on to win a great victory at Barossa in 1811.
He served Wellington as second-in-command, 1810-12, and again in 1813.
He was, however, forced to resign his commission due to painful eye
condition, partly caused by constant use of the telescope under the
high sun.
Hill
Upper Prep: [email protected] Lynedoch
Upper Prep: [email protected]
Senior: [email protected] Senior: [email protected]
HARDINGE
ORANGE
t he or an g e
the har dinge
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