Reginald Talbot

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Reginald Talbot
As depicted by "Spy" (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, 22 July 1897. Caption reads Aldershot Cavalry.
11th Governor of Victoria
In office
25 April 1904 – 6 July 1908
MonarchEdward VII
PremierSir Thomas Bent
Preceded bySir George Clarke
Succeeded bySir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael
Personal details
Born(1841-07-11)11 July 1841
London, England
Died15 January 1929(1929-01-15) (aged 87)
London, England
SpouseMargaret Jane Stuart-Wortley
OccupationSoldier
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service1859–1903
RankMajor General
CommandsBritish Troops in Egypt (1899–02)
1st Regiment of Life Guards (1885–86)
Battles/warsAnglo-Zulu War
Nile Expedition
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Major General Sir Reginald Arthur James Talbot, KCB (11 July 1841 – 15 January 1929) was a British Army officer, Member of Parliament, and Governor of Victoria in Australia.

Early life[edit]

Talbot was born in London, the third son of Henry, Viscount Ingestre (later 3rd Earl Talbot and then 18th Earl of Shrewsbury) and Lady Sarah Elizabeth, née Beresford, daughter of the 2nd Marquess of Waterford. After attending Harrow School, he joined the British Army and became a sub-lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Life Guards in 1859.[1]

Political and military career[edit]

From 1869 to 1874, Talbot represented Stafford in the British House of Commons for the Conservative Party. On 8 May 1877, he married Margaret Jane Stuart-Wortley, granddaughter of the 1st Baron Wharncliffe.[1]

He returned to active service in the army, fighting in the Anglo-Zulu War, Egypt and taking part in the unsuccessful Nile Expedition to relieve General Charles George Gordon in Khartoum.[1] Talbot was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1885. He became General Officer Commanding the British Troops in Egypt in 1899, serving as such until 1903.[2]

He was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1902 Coronation Honours list,[3][4] and invested in person by the Duke of Connaught on 7 December 1902, when the Prince visited Egypt en route to India.[5]

Governor of Victoria[edit]

He was sworn in as Governor of Victoria on 25 April 1904. His tenure was marked by Talbot's determination to achieve visible improvement, and his reports to Britain favourably compared Victoria's economic and educational statistics to those of 1903.[1]

Talbot died in London on 15 January 1929.[1]

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e L. R. Gardiner, 'Talbot, Sir Reginald Arthur James (1841–1929)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 165.
  2. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  3. ^ "The Coronation Honours". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 5.
  4. ^ "No. 27448". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 July 1902. p. 4190.
  5. ^ "Latest intelligence - The Duke of Connaught in Egypt". The Times. No. 36945. London. 8 December 1902. p. 5.

External links[edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Stafford
1869–1874
With: Thomas Salt
Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding the British Troops in Egypt
1899–1903
Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Governor of Victoria
1904–1908
Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Colonel of the 3rd (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards
1907–1920
Succeeded by