Percy Kirke

Who was Percy Kirke?

Lieutenant General Percy Kirke, English soldier, was the son of George Kirke, a court official to Charles I and Charles II.

In 1666 Kirke obtained his first commission in the Lord Admiral's regiment, and subsequently served in the Blues. In 1673 he was with Monmouth at Maastricht and was present during two campaigns with Turenne on the Rhine.

In 1680 he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, and soon afterwards Colonel of the 2nd Tangier Regiment. In 1682 he became Governor of Tangier and colonel of the Tangier Regiment. He distinguished himself greatly as governor, although he gave offence by the roughness of his manners and the wildness of his life.

On the evacuation of Tangier, Kirke's Lambs returned to England, and a year later their colonel served as a brigadier in Feversham's army. After Sedgemoor the rebels were treated with great severity; but the charges so often brought against the Lambs are now known to be exaggerated, though the regiment shared to the full in the ruthless hunting down of the fugitives. It is often stated that it formed Jeffreys' escort in the Bloody Assizes, but this is erroneous.