United Kingdom

19th Hussars

Carte-de-Visite, studio W. West in Maidstone

Captain Fairbrother

Charles Manners Sutton Fairbrother was born in 1836. The first child of Sarah Louisa Fairbrother, an actress, he may have been the illegitimate son of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. The Duke eventually married his mother in 1847 - albeit in contravention of the 1772 Royal Marriages Act as the Duke failed to seek permission from Queen Victoria.

C.M.S. Fairbrother was a Cadet of the East Indian Company - his records at Addiscombe are held among the years 1851 to 1855.

He was gazetted a Cornet on October 20 1855, and a Lieutenant on September 12 1856. It seems from the HEIC records held in the National Archives that he was attached to the Madras Cavalry, and detached to the Bengal Army. He served with the 8th Light Cavalry, until its mutiny and disbandment during the Indian Mutiny.

At the amalgamation of the Indian Army, the 1st Bengal European Cavalry became the 19th Hussars ; the London Gazette listed the officers of the new regiment on September 30th 1862:
"To be Captains.
Lieut. Charles Manners Sutton Fairbrother, from late 5th Bengal European Cavalry
."

The 1863 Army List establishes his seniority to July 30th 1862. 

On March 4th 1866 he sailed from Southampton for Calcutta on board the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship Syria (Captain E. Christian).

Captain Fairbrother went up before the Special Army Examination at Aldershot in June 1873 and qualified for a 1st Class Certificate.

Captain and Brevet-Major C.M.S. Fairbrother was promoted to Major on December 13th 1878. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on April 11th 1879. He was then in command of the Regiment.
He retired on half-pay on June 13th 1882. His appointment at the head of the regiment was somehow a short one, and there were apparently critics to his abilities as a Commanding Officer
The Times, when discussing the "Military preparations" for the Egypt campaign, thus qualified the Regiment, on July 4th, 1882 :
"(...) The 19th Hussars are, thanks to the zeal and ability of Major Barrow, a former Adjutant, about the best cavalry corps in the service in the matter of reconnasissance and outpost duty. But the regiment has been somewhat heavily handicapped in the matter of senior officers, and it was passed over last year when a cavalry contingent as sent out to Natal. (...)"
He will be successsed by
Lieutenant-Colonel Kendal Coghill at the head of the 19th Hussars

On the photo he is still Captain, which is confirmed by the fact that the collar of his frock coat wears no badge of rank (as Field Officers frock coats did).

C.M.S. Fairbrother died in 1901.

Thanks to SeanWeir for his help