Francis Colombine was an officer in the 8th Regiment of Foot, known as Webb’s Regiment. He served in the War of the Spanish Succession under the Duke of Marlborough. He rose to the rank of major in the regiment and was subsequently appointed to command the 10th Regiment, aka Grove’s Regiment, from 1723 to October 1735. The regiment was in Scotland when he took over command, and from 1724 to 1730 was in England. They embarked for Gibraltar in 1730. Cannon’s Historical Record says, “He performed the duty of commanding officer of the Tenth upwards of twelve years, and preserved the regiment in a high state of discipline and efficiency.”
He was promoted to major-general on 29 Oct 1735, and appointed Colonel of the regiment on 27 July 1737, following the death of Lieutenant General Henry Grove a year earlier. Colombine was promoted to lieutenant general on 2 July 1739. He was appointed temporary Governor of Gibraltar in October 1739, where his regiment had been stationed since 1730, and where he had been employed as lieutenant to Governor Joseph Sabine. He relinquished this temporary position in April 1740 when General William Hargrave became Governor, and the regiment returned to Ireland in 1749.
The print portrays him in an elaborately embroidered coat and waistcoat, posing with his wife, Ann, daughter of Straynsham Master, Judge Advocate in Gibraltar. Lieutenant General Francis Colombine died in England on 22 September 1746
