Richard Onslow (British Army officer)
Lieutenant-General Richard Onslow ( – 16 March 1760) was a British Army officer and politician. After the death of their parents, his older brother Arthur bought him a captain's commission in the British Army. He first saw action in the Anglo-Spanish War in 1727, after which he was returned to Parliament for the family borough of Guildford. His political contributions were negligible in comparison to his brother, and he continued to serve as a career officer, holding commands in the War of the Austrian Succession at Dettingen and Fontenoy. In 1759, he was appointed Governor of Plymouth and commander of the Western District, and died as a lieutenant-general the following year while presiding over two prominent courts-martial. Early life He was the second son of Foot Onslow, Member of Parliament for Guildford. His older brother was Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons from 1728 to 1761, and after the death of his father in 1710 and his mother in 1715, he and his four sisters were left in Arthur's care. As Richard had not been educated for the law or the church, Arthur thought, against the opinion of their friends, that Richard's courage and bodily stature suited him