Lord Mark Kerr (British Army officer, born 1817) explained

Lord Mark Kerr
Birth Place:	Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian, Scotland
Birth Date:	15 December 1817
Death Place:	London
Allegiance:	United Kingdom
Rank:	General
Unit:	20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot 13th (1st Somersetshire) (Prince Albert's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot
Commands:	13th (Prince Albert's Own) Regiment of Light Infantry Poona Division of the Bombay Army
Battles:	Crimean War Indian Rebellion
Awards:	GCB, CB

General Lord Mark Ralph George Kerr GCB (15 December 1817 – 17 May 1900) was a British Army officer who served in the Crimean War and in India.^[1]

Background

Kerr was born in his ancestral home (Newbattle Abbey), in Midlothian, Scotland in 1817; the son of William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian and his second wife Lady Harriet Scott (daughter of the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch). He was one of 12 Kerr siblings from two mothers.

Military career

Kerr was commissioned (by purchase) into the army on 19 June 1835 as an Ensign in the 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot^{[2] [3]} and served in the Crimean War and various campaigns in India,^[4] including the Indian Mutiny. From 1842 to 1853 Kerr served with his regiment, which was a reserve battalion stationed in Bermuda and Canada.^[5] His military career summary is as follows:^[6]

• 14 September 1838 Promoted Lieutenant (by purchase)
• 26 June 1840 Promoted Captain (by purchase)
• 27 September 1841 Embarked with regiment for overseas service^[7]
• 1842-1847 Serving with regiment in Bermuda
• 1848-1853 Serving with regiment in Canada
• 25 July 1851 Promoted Major (by purchase)
• 30 December 1853 Promoted Lieutenant Colonel (by purchase)
• 1854 Serving with regiment in Winchester, England
• 22 December 1854 Took command of the 13th (1st Somersetshire) (Prince Albert's Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot^[8]
• 30 June 1855 Commanded 13th Light Infantry in the Crimean War (at battles of Tchernaya and fall of Sebastopol)^[9]
• 1857 Commanded the 13th Light Infantry in the Indian Mutiny
• 5 April 1858 Led a small but successful force that defeated far larger enemy forces at the Siege of Azimghur, India^{[10] [11]}
• 28 September 1858 Appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB)
• September 1862 Promoted Brigadier-General
• 1865 Left the 13th Light Infantry
• 6 March 1868 Promoted Major-General
• 1874 Commanded the Poona Division of the Bombay Army
• 13 July 1876 Promoted Lieutenant General
• 11 November 1878 Promoted General
• 1881 Birthday Honours Advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB)
• 1893 Birthday Honours Advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB)
• 1877 Appointed Regimental Colonel of the 54th Regiment of Foot until 1880^[12]
• 22 February 1880^[13] Appointed Regimental Colonel of the successor of the 13th Light Infantry Regiment, i.e. the Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's); a post he held until his death in 1900.

The Kerr family's association with the 13th Light Infantry was a longstanding one, as an earlier Lord Mark Kerr had a colonelcy in the regiment in its early years.

He published a journal of his military experiences and travels.^[14]

Death

He died a bachelor in London in 1900.^{[15] [16]}

See also

• Battle of the Chernaya
• Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)
• Indian Rebellion of 1857
• British Indian Army

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lord Mark Ralph George Kerr - National Portrait Gallery . www.npg.org.uk . 12 September 2019 . en.
2. Web site: Page 179 - Army lists 1840 - British Military lists . digital.nls.uk . Hart's Army Lists . 12 September 2019.
3. Web site: New annual army list, and militia list 1858 . digital.nls.uk . Hart's Army Lists . 12 September 2019.
4. Web site: Chapter II – Kunwar Singh and Lord Mark Kerr . www.ibiblio.org . 15 September 2019.
5. Web site: Infantry I: Regiments of Foot 1st through 50th . British Regiments in Canada . 15 September 2019.
6. Web site: Luscombe . Stephen . The British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Colonies . www.britishempire.co.uk . 12 September 2019.
7. Web site: Page 195 - New annual army list 1848 . digital.nls.uk . Hart's Army Lists . 15 September 2019.
8. Web site: Somerset Light Infantry . www.lightinfantry.me.uk . 15 September 2019.
9. Web site: Page 243 New annual army list, and militia list 1858 . digital.nls.uk . Hart's Army Lists . 12 September 2019.
10. Web site: General Lord Mark Kerr in India Kit Art UK . artuk.org . 15 September 2019 . en.
11. Book: Kaye . Sir John . Malleson . Colonel . The History of the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58: Vol 4 . 2013 . Andrews UK Limited . 9781781510094 . 322–327 . en.
12. Web site: Page 288, New annual army list, militia list, and Indian civil service list 1880 . digital.nls.uk . Hart's Army List . 15 September 2019.
13. Web site: Page 245 - New annual army list, militia list, yeomanry cavalry list, and Indian civil service list 1881 . digital.nls.uk . Hart's Army List . 12 September 2019.
14. Book: Kerr . Mark Ralph George . Journals of Lord Mark Kerr, 1841-1889. . 1889 . Printed for private circulation . London.
15. Web site: Person Page . www.thepeerage.com . 12 September 2019.
16. Web site: Cracroft's Peerage . 12 September 2019.