Philip Honywood

Who is Philip Honywood?

General Sir Philip Honywood KB was a British Army officer.

He entered the Army as an ensign in James Stanley's regiment of foot on 12 June 1694, and served under King William III in the Netherlands. He was promoted to captain in the Royal Fusiliers on 1 April 1696, and captain in the Earl of Huntingdon's newly raised regiment on 10 March 1702. In the reign of Queen Anne he shared in the toils and dangers of two campaigns in Brabant under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and afterward transferred his services to Spain. He was rewarded for his excellent conduct with the lieutenant-colonelcy of the regiment, now Wade's. On 27 May 1709 he was promoted to the colonelcy of the 92nd Regiment, which was disbanded in 1712, and in 1710 he obtained the rank of brigadier-general.

He was a zealous and warm-hearted advocate for the Protestant succession, and on the formation of a new ministry which was believed to be favourable to the interests of the Pretender, Honywood, Lieutenant-General Meredith and Major-General Macartney were guilty of drinking at a public dinner in Flanders the toast of "Damnation and confusion to the new Ministry, and to those who had any hand in turning out the old", and they received an official intimation that the Queen had no further occasion for their services. Four years afterwards a change took place: the ministers who had induced the Queen to deprive him of his commission were charged with high treason and fled to France, and on 22 July 1715 Brigadier-General Honywood was rewarded for his attachment to the house of Hanover with a commission to raise, form and discipline a corps of cavalry, later the 11th Hussars. He served at the head of his regiment during the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, commanded a brigade at Preston, and was wounded at the storming of one of the avenues of the town, on which occasion he evinced signal valour and judgement.