History could have been kinder to John Elley.
He rose from humble beginnings to become a member of the establishment in the early 19th century, propelled in part by a successful military career.
I am sure there will be an entry in the National Biography, but for now the most accessible account of his life comes from Wikipedia, which records that, “Lieutenant-General Sir John Elley KCB KCH KMT KSG (9 January 1764 – 23 January 1839) was a British soldier who joined the cavalry as a private, and rose to general officer rank.
He fought with distinction during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and later served as the last Governor of Galway and as Colonel of the 17th Lancers”.*
There is more, but for that you will have to follow the link and read it, for as ever I do not lift other people’s research, other than to say he “was born in Leeds in 1764. His father ran an eating-house at Furnival's Inn. Apprenticed to Mr. John Gelderd, a tannery owner of the village of Meanwood near Leeds, West Yorkshire, he became engaged to his masters daughter Anne. After her untimely death, he enlisted, in 1789” and saw service throughout the wars with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.
His rise through the ranks was pretty meteoric and while his courage under fire was recognized, I wonder if in that age when military rank could be bought he had help from someone.
Still that doesn’t diminish his achievements, I just wish there was more, especially as the one painting of him in the National Gallery according to Wikipedia “one or more third parties have made copyright claims against Wikimedia Commons in relation to the work from which this is sourced”.
So we won’t be going down that route.
Instead I shall just post this envelope, which was sent by Sir John shortly before he died to a D Tait of the 4th Dragoons in Manchester.
I will go looking for D Tait and more on the 4th Dragoons, who may have been stationed in the Cavalry Barracks in Hulme, at a time when the military’s presence was partly linked to the continued social and industrial unrest in the North.
It was acquired by my old friend David Harrop, he of all things posty.
Alas, the contents of the letter are lost, which I suppose fits with that general sense that there history has passed him over.
That said the Wikipedia article does reference several mentions of John Elley in the London Gazette, and I came across more in the Manchester Guardian, so perhaps here is indeed a research project in the making.
Picture; envelope sent by Sir John Elley, 1837, from the collection of David Harrop
*John Elley, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Elley
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