Vereker, Charles
Vereker, Charles (1768–1842), 2nd Viscount Gort , naval and militia officer, and MP, was the second son of Thomas Vereker of Roxborough, Limerick, and his wife Juliana, sister of John Prendergast Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort. His Vereker ancestry was Flemish but the family was long…...
Verling, James Roche
Verling, James Roche (1787–1858), army surgeon, was born at Cove, Co. Cork, on 27 February 1787, second son in the family of five sons and two daughters of John Verling and his wife, Eleanor (née Roche), of Cove. The Verlings were a wealthy and influential catholic family long…...
Vigors, Nicholas Aylward
Vigors, Nicholas Aylward (1785?–1840), zoologist, soldier, and liberal MP, was probably born in 1785 (although some sources claim 1787) at Old Leighlin, Co. Carlow, eldest surviving son of Capt. Nicholas Aylward Vigors, 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment, of Old Leighlin and Belmont, Co…...
Waddell, Hugh
Waddell, Hugh (1734–73), colonial general in America, was born in Lisburn, Co. Antrim, son of Hugh Waddell, a prosperous farmer, and Isabella Waddell (née Brown). His father killed a man in a duel and was forced to flee the country; emigrating to America, Hugh was educated in Boston,…...
Wade, George
Wade, George (1673–1748), field marshal and military road builder, was born most likely at Killavally, near Tyrellspass, Co. Westmeath, third son of Jerome Wade, farmer, and grandson of William Wade, a Cromwellian army officer. Reputedly of exceptionally large build, he joined the…...
Walker, George
Walker, George (1643×8–1690), clergyman and military governor of Derry during the siege of 1689, was born between 1643 and 1648, probably at Wighill, near Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire. His grandfather, the Rev. Gervase Walker (d. 1642), probably came to Ireland from Ruddington in…...
Wallace, Robert Hugh
Wallace, Robert Hugh (1860–1929), Orangeman, soldier and political activist, was born in English Street, Downpatrick, Co. Down, on 14 December 1860, son of William Nevin Wallace, solicitor and landowner, and his second wife, Catherine Mary (d. 1877), daughter of Francis Charles…...
Waller, Sir Hardress
Waller, Sir Hardress (1604–66), soldier, politician, and regicide, was the son and heir of George Waller of Groombridge, Kent, England, and his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Hardress. Waller's family was one of the wealthiest in Kent, and his cousin was the parliamentarian…...
Wall, Joseph
Wall, Joseph (1737–1802), soldier and governor, was born in Dublin, eldest of three sons of Garrett Wall, farmer, from Derryknavin, near Abbeyleix, Queen's Co. (Laois); his mother's name is unknown. Educated locally, he entered TCD (1752…...
Walshe, Edward
Walshe, Edward (fl.1544–77), army officer and author, was a member of a leading Waterford family that was prominent in civic politics. It appears that he entered the service of Anthony St Leger (qv) about 1537. The exact…...
Warburton, George Drought
This is a co-subject for the entry on WARBURTON, Bartholomew Elliott George (‘Eliot Warburton’). View the original entry....
Ware, Hugh
Ware, Hugh (1776?–1846), United Irishman and French army officer, was the only surviving son in the family of six sons and five daughters of Patrick Ware (b. 1730s) of Rathcoffey, Co. Kildare, a surveyor employed by the 2nd duke of…...
Warren, Richard Augustus
Warren, Richard Augustus (1705–75), Jacobite and French army officer, was born at Corduff near Castleknock, Co. Dublin, son of John Warren and Mary Warren (née Jones). Two of his brothers became officers in the Irish brigade in the service of France, while a third became a…...
Warren, Sir Peter
Warren, Sir Peter (1703–52), admiral in the British navy, was born 10 March 1703 at Warrenstown, Co. Meath, third son among three sons and two daughters of Michael Warren, Roman catholic landowner, and Catherine Warren (née Aylmer). Educated locally, he entered the Royal Navy in…...
Watson, Sir Charles Moore
Watson, Sir Charles Moore (1844–1916), imperial soldier and administrator, was born 10 July 1844 in Dublin, second son of William Watson, civil engineer and JP, of Dublin, and Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Moore Morgan (rector of Dunlavin, Co…...
Weaver, John
Weaver, John Andrew (1923–2013), soldier and physician, was born on 20 December 1923 at Ballytrim, Killyleagh, Co. Down, the elder of two sons of William Weaver, a farmer, and his wife Emily, a former bank official. The family had farmed flax for generations at Ballytrim, but moved to…...
Wellesley (Wesley), Arthur
Wellesley (Wesley), Arthur (1769–1852), 1st duke of Wellington , soldier and politician, was born 1 May 1769 at Mornington House, 6 Merrion Street, Dublin, the third surviving son of Garret Wesley (qv) (1735–81), 1st earl of Mornington, and…...
White, Harry
White, Harry (1916–89), IRA activist, was born in Blackwater Street off the Grosvenor Road in west Belfast, one of ten children (five sons and five daughters) of Billy White, water technician with Belfast Corporation, and his wife Kathleen (née McKane). White's paternal grandfather and…...
White, James Robert (‘Jack’)
White, James Robert (‘Jack’) (1879–1946), soldier and anarchist, was born in May 1879 in Broughshane, near Ballymena, Co. Antrim, only son among five children of Field-marshal Sir George Stuart White, an Anglo-Irish landowner and distinguished soldier, and his wife Amy, daughter of…...
Wickham, Sir Charles George
Wickham, Sir Charles George (1879–1971), soldier and policeman, was born 1 September 1879 at Chestnut Grove, Tadcaster, Yorkshire, fourth son of William Wickham Wickham and Katherine Henta Wickham. He was educated at Harrow School and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.…...
Williams, Charles Frederick
Williams, Charles Frederick (1838–1904), journalist and war correspondent, was born 4 May 1838 in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. His parents' names are unknown, but he claimed to be descended paternally from Worcestershire yeomen (of Tenbury and Mamble), and maternally from Ulster Scots…...
Wilmot, Sir Charles
Wilmot, Sir Charles (1570/71–1643/4), 1st Viscount Wilmot of Athlone , English soldier and governor of Connacht, was son and heir of Edward Wilmot of Culham, Oxfordshire, England, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Stafford of Bradfield, Berkshire. He matriculated at…...
Wilson, Sir Henry Hughes
Wilson, Sir Henry Hughes (1864–1922), 1st baronet, soldier, and politician, was born 5 May 1864 at his family home at Currygrane, near Ballinalee, Co. Longford, the second son of four sons and three daughters of James Wilson, a landowner, and his wife, Constance Grace Martha Wilson…...
Wilson, Walter Gordon
Wilson, Walter Gordon (1874–1957), engineer and inventor of the tank, was born 21 April 1874 at his family's home, Dunardagh, Temple Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, fifth son of George Orr Wilson, barrister, and Annie Wilson (née Shaw). Educated as a naval cadet at…...
Wingfield, Sir Richard
Wingfield, Sir Richard (1551?–1634), 1st Viscount Powerscourt and soldier, was eldest son of Sir Richard Wingfield, governor of Portsmouth, and his wife Christian Fitzwilliam of Milton. He was born into a family with a strong martial tradition: his brothers and uncles bore arms for…...