John Clavering (British Army officer)

Sir John Clavering
Sir John Clavering
Born	bapt. 1722
Died	30 August 1777 (aged 55)
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service / branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Indian Army
Battles / wars	Seven Years' War
Awards	Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath

Lieutenant General Sir John Clavering KB (bapt. 1722 – 30 August 1777) was an army officer and diplomat.

Military career

Baptised in Lanchester, County Durham, England in 1722, Clavering was the younger son of Sir James Clavering Bt and Catherine Yorke,^[1] and younger brother of Sir Thomas Clavering, 7th Baronet.^[2] He was commissioned as ensign in the army in 1736, and was a captain of the Coldstream Guards by 1753.^[1]

During the Seven Years' War, Clavering served in the West Indies.^[1] During the Invasion of Guadeloupe Major-General John Barrington transferred most of the soldiers from Fort Royal, Martinique, to Fort Louis on the Grande-Terre side of Guadeloupe. In March he used this as a base from which naval transport carried separate forces under Brigadiers Byam Crump and John Clavering to attack French positions around the island. The attacks were highly effective, and the French capitulated on 2 May 1759.^[3]

In 1762, Clavering obtained a colonelcy on the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot.^[1] Promoted to Lieutenant General, in 1770, Clavering was appointed as governor of Landguard Fort.^[1] In 1773, Clavering travelled to India as a member of the Supreme Council of Bengal. In 1774, shortly after Warren Hastings was appointed Governor General, Clavering was appointed as Commander in Chief in India.^[2]

He was created a Knight of the Bath in 1775. He died at Calcutta, India,^[2] and is buried there in South Park Street Cemetery.^[4]

Family

Clavering was married twice; firstly (in 1756) he married Lady Diana West, daughter of John West, 1st Earl De La Warr. Lady Diana died in 1766. In 1772, Clavering married his cousin, Catherine Yorke.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f T. H. Bowyer, ‘Clavering, Sir John (bap. 1722, d. 1777)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 26 May 2008
^ ^a ^b ^c The Peerage website
^ Brumwell, Stephen (9 January 2006), Redcoats: The British Soldier and War in the Americas, 1755-1763, Cambridge University Press, p. 32, ISBN 978-0-521-67538-3, retrieved 23 October 2019
^ The South Park Street Cemetery, Calcutta, published by the Association for the Preservation of Historical Cemeteries in India, 5th ed., 2009

Military offices
Preceded by Sir John Sebright	Colonel of the 52nd Regiment of Foot 1762–1777	Succeeded by Cyrus Trapaud
Preceded by Robert Armiger	Governor of Landguard Fort 1770–1776	Succeeded by Hon. Alexander Mackay
Preceded by Alexander Champion	Commander-in-Chief, India 1774–1777	Succeeded by Giles Stibbert
Preceded by Robert Monckton	Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed 1776–1777	Succeeded by Sir John Mordaunt

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[DNB-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f T. H. Bowyer, ‘Clavering, Sir John (bap. 1722, d. 1777)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 26 May 2008

[Peer-2] The Peerage website

[3] Brumwell, Stephen (9 January 2006), Redcoats: The British Soldier and War in the Americas, 1755-1763, Cambridge University Press, p. 32, ISBN 978-0-521-67538-3, retrieved 23 October 2019

[4] The South Park Street Cemetery, Calcutta, published by the Association for the Preservation of Historical Cemeteries in India, 5th ed., 2009

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