William Norcott

For the satirist, see William Norcott (satirist).

Lieutenant General Sir William Sherbrooke Ramsey Norcott KCB (12 December 1804 – 23 January 1886) of the Rifle Brigade was a British Army officer who fought during the Crimean War, was an Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria and became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.

Sir William Norcott
Sir William Norcott (centre) arriving in Jersey
Born	(1804-12-12)12 December 1804 Chelmsford, Essex
Died	23 January 1886(1886-01-23) (aged 81) St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1822–1878
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles / wars	Crimean War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Early life

Norcott was born on 12 December 1804 in Chelmsford Essex, the second son to General Sir Amos Godsell Robert Norcott CB KCH who had commanded a battalion of the 95th Rifles at the Battle of Waterloo.^[1]

Military career

Norcott was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1822^[2] and made a Captain of the 52nd Regiment in on 21 February 1840.^[3] Later the same year (7 August) he returned to the Rifles and on 1 August 1847 he was promoted to major.^[4]

During the Crimean War he fought at the Battle of Alma and commanded 1st Battalion, the Rifle Brigade at the Siege of Sevastopol.^[2]

Between 1855 and 1868 he was Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria,^[3] then went on to become Lieutenant Governor of Jersey between 1 October 1873 to 30 September 1878.^[3]

He was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Bath in 1877 and became a General in 1879.^[3]

Later years

After his retirement he wrote some letters to The Times newspaper disputing some of the claims made about the battle of Alma.^[5]

Family

In 1848 he married Frances Marrianne Durant; they had six children,^[1] at least 3 sons became soldiers.

• Charles Hawtrey Bruce Norcott born 25 April 1849 became a General of the Rifle Brigade.
• Walter Gordon Norcott born about 1851, became a Lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Munster Fusiliers (also served in the Royal Bengal Fusiliers)^[6]
• Gerald Alfred born about 1861 became a Major of the Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (having originally joined the 47th Foot and who died of Pneumonia whilst on staff service during World War I.^[7]

References

1. Maunsell, Robert George (6 August 1903). "History of Maunsell or Mansel, and of Crayford, Gabbett, Knoyle, Persse, Toler, Waller, Castletown; Waller, Prior Park; Warren, White, Winthrop, and Mansell of Guernsey". Cork, Guy and Company, Limited – via Internet Archive.
2. Cork past and present
3. "William Sherbrooke Ramsay Norcott". www.familiesunearthed.com.
4. "No. 20776". The London Gazette. 24 September 1847. p. 3406.
5. "Mr Kinglake on the Crimea". The Times. 25 March 1863. p. 5. Archived from the original on 29 May 2006.
6. "No. 30831". The London Gazette (8th supplement). 6 August 2018. p. 9302.
7. "The Channel Islands and The Great War". www.greatwarci.net.

Military offices
New regiment	Colonel of the 1st Battalion, The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment 1881–1885	Succeeded by Sir Richard Thomas Farren
Preceded by Sir William O'Grady Haly	Colonel of 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot 1878–1881	Succeeded by Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
Preceded by Sir Alfred Horsford	Colonel-Commandant of the 2nd Battalion, The Prince Consort's Own (Rifle Brigade) 1885–1886	Succeeded by Sir Alexander Macdonnell
Government offices
Preceded by Sir Philip Guy	Lieutenant Governor of Jersey 1873–1878	Succeeded by Sir Lothian Nicholson