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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.
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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]
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