Lynedoch, Thomas Graham, 1st Baron

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Lynedoch, Thomas Graham, 1st Baron (1748–1843). General. On 3 September 1785 Graham participated in the first cricket match to be played in Scotland. After the death of his wife (whose portrait by Gainsborough hangs in the Scottish National Gallery) in 1791, Graham turned from managing his estate to a political and military career. In 1794 he became Whig MP for Perthshire and raised the Perthshire Volunteers. He distinguished himself at the capture of Minorca in 1798 and obtained permanent military rank through the influence of Sir John Moore. Lynedoch subsequently became Moore's aide-de-camp during the Corunna campaign. After commanding a brigade in the ill-fated Walcheren expedition (1809), Lynedoch returned to the Peninsular War and defeated the French in March 1811 at Barrosa. He then joined Wellington, assisting in the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo (January 1812) and commanding the left wing at Vitoria (June 1813). The following year he was created a peer and in 1817 co-founded the United Service Club.

Richard A. Smith

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Lynedoch, Thomas Graham, 1st Baron

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