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HOUSES AND PASTORAL CARE COMBERMERE HOPETOUN LYNEDOCH STANLEY WELLESLEY HILL Stapleton Cotton, Viscount Combermere, was a dashing cavalry officer known as ‘Lion d’Or’ thanks to his glittering outfits. He saw service on 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. 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. 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. This in-College house 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. 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. 28 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. 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. 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. Combermere Upper Prep [email protected] Hopetoun Upper Prep [email protected] Lynedoch Upper Prep [email protected] Stanley Upper Prep [email protected] Wellesley Upper Prep [email protected] Senior [email protected] Senior [email protected] Senior [email protected] Senior [email protected] Senior [email protected] 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. Hill Head of Boarding [email protected] 29