Soldier Of The Raj
The Life of Richard Purvis, 1789-1869: Soldier, Sailor and Parson
Published on 31. December 1990
300 pages
978-1-78383-906-3 (ISBN)
Description
A meticulously researched biography of a young officer in the early part of the 19th Century. The son of an admiral, Richard Purvis went to sea in Nelson's Navy at the age of 11 before being commissioned at the age of 15 into the Bengal Army, part of the great East India Company. He went on to serve 17 years in India before returning to become a country parson.The emphasis of this book is on his Indian military service, with the story told largely through an extensive collection of previously unpublished contemporary letters. These give a unique and intimate insight into the daily lives, difficulties, ethos and humour of young British officers in India during the Napoleonic period. There was, of course, danger and action too and Purvis's role in the Nepal War is described. Patronage was also a feature of a young ambitious man's life during the Georgian period and the workings of this are fascinatingly revealed.
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Content
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- List Of Plates, Maps & Plans
- Conventions
- Prologue
- PART 1 - SAILING ORDERS
- 1. The Channel Fleet, 1800
- 2. The Academy, 1802
- 3. Appointment, 1803
- 4. Passage to India, 1804
- PART 2 - MARCHING ORDERS
- 1. Joining the Regiment, 1805
- 2. First Command, 1805
- 3. Debt, 1806
- 4. First Blood, 1806
- 5. Bareilly, 1808
- 6. Disenchantment, 1809
- 7. Paths of Venus, 1810
- 8. Recommendation, 1811
- 9. Progress, 1812
- 10. Preparations for War, 1815
- 11. Makwanpur, 1816
- 12. Soldier's Return, 1817
- PART 3 - HOLY ORDERS
- 1. Confrontation, 1818
- 2. Ordination, 1819
- 3. Georgina, 1820
- 4. Priesthood, 1821
- 5. Whitsbury, 1822-26
- 6. Hatches & Matches, 1827-30
- 7. Aunt Timms, 1831
- 8. Middle Years, 1830s-50s
- 9. Eventide, 1850s-60s
- The Purvis Trail
- Epilogue
- Appendix 1 Glossary of Indian Terms used in the text
- Appendix 2 Sources and References
- Appendix 3 Genealogical Tables
- INDEX
