Robert Chambre Hill

Sir Robert Chambre Hill CB Kt (1778 – 5 March 1860) was a British Army cavalry officer who fought in the Peninsular War and was wounded while in command of the Royal Horse Guards at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

Background

He was born on 25 March 1778 at Hawkstone Hall near Prees, Shropshire, the fourth son of John Hill, a Shropshire farmer and Mary, daughter and co-heir to John Chambré of Petton, Shropshire. One of his elder brothers was Rowland, later Lord Hill.^[1]

Career

Educated at Rugby School from 1788,^[2] Hill was appointed a cornet in the 6th Dragoons on 29 July 1795. Promotion to lieutenant followed on 26 August 1796 and to captain on 15 June 1804. He then transferred as a major to the Royal Horse Guards (Blues) on 15 November 1805 and received his brevet promotion to lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1819.^[3]

He commanded the Blues during the Peninsular War and led a brigade of cavalry at the 1813 Battle of Vitoria, for which he received the Gold Medal.^[3] At Waterloo Hill, while a commander of the Royal Horse Guards, a musket ball entered his right shoulder and passed through his arm.^[4] Despite the injury, Hill remained on the battlefield until close to the completion of the action.^[5]

For his services in the battle he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB),^[6] and a Knight of the Russian Order of St. George of the Fourth Class.^[7]

He was knighted by the Prince Regent on 29 May 1812 as a proxy for his brother, Rowland, who was already a Knight of the Bath.^[8]

Hill later became Deputy Lieutenant of Shropshire, a magistrate for the Wem and Whitchurch divisions,^[4] and a Commissioner of Income and Property Taxes for the latter.^[9]

Family

Hill married Eliza, daughter of Henry Lumley on 5 February 1801^[6] and they had the following children:^[1]

• George-Stavely, born 1801, married Jane daughter of Thomas Borough in 1832.
• Alfred-Edward, born 19 March 1810 who became a captain in the British Army and married the daughter of the Earl of Kilmorey on 9 April 1839.
• Percy, born 24 December 1817 who became a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles) and married Harriet-Cecilia, daughter of Captain John Steuart.
• Mary-Julia

His brothers Rowland, Thomas and Clement also followed military careers and were all present at the Battle of Waterloo.^[10]

References

1. Burke 1869, p. 584.
2. The Rugby Register, from the Year 1675 to the Present Time. Second Edition, Revised and Corrected. (Continuation of the Rugby Register. Entrances in August, MDCCCXXXVIII [-August, MDCCCXXXIX].) MS. Notes. T. Combe & Company. 1838. p. 90.
3. Philippart 1820, p. 247.
4. "Death of Sir Robert Chambre Hill CB". Shrewsbury Chronicle. 10 March 1850. Retrieved 15 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
5. The Shropshire Gazetteer: With an Appendix Including a Survey of the County, and Valuable Miscellaneous Information. T. Gregory. 1824. p. 448.
6. Dalton 1904, p. 51.
7. Battle of Waterloo (1815). The battle of Waterloo, containing the series of accounts published by authority, British and foreign [&c.]. By a Near Observer. p. 255.
8. "From the London Gazette". Kentish Gazette. 2 June 1812. Retrieved 17 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
9. "Income Tax". Staffordshire Advertiser. 16 July 1842. Retrieved 15 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
10. "Death of Sir Robert Chambre Hill CB". Shrewsbury Chronicle. 10 March 1850. Retrieved 15 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).

Bibliography

• Burke, Bernard (1869). A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, Volume 1. London: Harrison.
• Dalton, Charles (1904). The Waterloo roll call. With biographical notes and anecdotes. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode.
• Philippart, John (1820). The Royal Military Calendar or Army Service and Commission Book IV.