Charles Shaw (British Army officer)
| Sir Charles Shaw | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1795 Ayr, Scotland |
| Died | 22 February 1871 Bad Homberg-vor-der-Hohe, Germany |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army (1813-44) Portugal: Liberating Army (1831-35) Spain: British Auxiliary Legion (1835-36) |
| Rank | Half-pay Lieutenant (British Regular Army) Captain-Commandant (British Volunteers) Lieutenant-Colonel (Portugal) Brigadier-General (Spain) |
| Commands held | Leith Shapshooters (Britain) Scotch Fusiliers (Portugal) Scotch Brigade, British Auxiliary Legion (Spain) Irish Brigade, British Auxiliary Legion (Spain) Manchester and Bolton Police Forces (1839 - 1842) |
| Battles/wars |
Napoleonic Wars Portuguese Liberal Wars First Carlist War |
| Awards |
Knight of the Military Order of the Tower and Sword (Portugal) (1834) Knight of the Royal Military Order of San Fernando (Spain) (1836) Knight Bachelor (UK) (1838) |
| Other work | Chief Commissioner, Manchester Borough Police |
Brigadier-General Sir Charles Shaw (1795—22 February 1871) was a Scottish soldier and liberal, who served in the British Army and in British volunteer forces on the constitutional side in civil wars in Portugal and Spain. He was later a pioneering police commissioner.
Charles Shaw was born in 1795 in Ayr, Scotland, where his father was the county clerk. Alexander Shaw and John Shaw the surgeons, and Patrick Shaw the legal writer, were his brothers. He was educated at Aberdeen and Edinburgh universities, destined for the law, but chose a military career instead.
Shaw was commissioned into the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Light Infantry as an ensign by purchase in 1813. He joined the 2nd Battalion, a training cadre supplying drafts to the 1st Battalion serving in the Peninsular War. In December 1813 the 2/52nd (only 196 strong) embarked in Sir Thomas Graham’s expedition to the Low Countries. Shaw saw action at the capture of the village of Merxem in deep snow on 31 January 1814, but the weak 2/52nd was an ineffective combat unit and was left out of Graham’s attack on Bergen-op-Zoom, being employed in the siege of Antwerp and subsequently in garrison duty. For the 1815 campaign the 2/52nd was drafted into the newly arrived 1/52nd. On 17 June, as a junior lieutenant (promoted December 1813) Shaw was sent to Brussels in charge of the baggage. Rushing back, he reached Waterloo village on the morning of 18 June, but to his chagrin was ordered to return to his duty and so missed the Battle of Waterloo in which the 52nd bore a distinguished part. Nevertheless he did receive the Waterloo Medal. He served in the Occupation of Paris and returned to the 2/52nd in England in 1816.
...
Wikipedia