Brownlow Villiers Layard

Brownlow Villiers Layard was born in Staffordshire on 14 July 1804. He was the son of the Rev Brownlow Villiers Layard and Louisa Port, the eldest of 7 children. He entered the army as an ensign in 1823, serving in the 14th Regiment. He carried the Colours at the storming of Bhurtpore on 18 Jan 1826. He commanded the 9th East Norfolk Regiment for only 12 months, from 1852 to 1853 when he retired by sale.

1823 Ensign 24 Jul
1826 Lieutenant 20 Jan
1834 Captain 21 Nov
1846 Brevet-Major 9 Nov
1847 Major 3 Sep
1852 Lieutenant-Colonel 8 Jun

Layard was also a politician, elected Whig MP for Carlow Borough in 1841, until 1847. He campaigned tirelessly to improve the lot of the common soldier, and for Ireland to be governed ‘with justice and impartiality’. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Daniel O’Connell who was tried in 1844. After retiring from the army he was in financial trouble and began to suffer ‘various fanciful diseases’. He asked for laudanum to end his life but was refused, so he cut his own throat and died on 27 December 1853.

Captain Layard married on 14 July 1835, in Dublin, to Elizabeth Digby. They had a son also called Brownlow Villiers Layard and who reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the 28th Regiment.