John Boteler Parker


John Boteler Parker was a notable British Army general of the early 19th century. He saw action at the Battle of Waterloo, and later became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.

Career

Parker was the second son of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Anne Boteler.
Joining the army, Parker served in the Walcheren Campaign in 1809, and in operations up to and including the siege
of Flushing in the same year. In February 1812, he embarked for Lisbon with the Duke of Wellington’s army till the conclusion of the Peninsular War in 1814, taking part in the Battle of Vitoria, the Siege of San Sebastián, the Battle of Orthez, the action at Tarbes, and the Battle of Toulouse.
As a second captain in Captain Hew Ross' Royal Horse Artillery Troop, Parker fought at Waterloo, being promoted to major on 18 June 1814, wounded and having his left leg amputated. For his services at the battle, he was nominated to be appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, upon the recommendation of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington.
He was second captain to the Company of Gentlemen Cadets from 28 December 1821 to 18 January 1837. He lived for a time in Government House in Woolwich, commissioning architect John Douglas Hopkins to enhance the building in 1840. He was Lieutenant-Governor of the Royal Military Academy from 1 April 1846, until his death, aged 66, at Woolwich Common on 25 March 1851. His remains were interred in a vault at St Luke's Church in nearby Charlton.

Family

Parker married Mary Popham, daughter of Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, on 3 November 1814. They had at least eight children: Mary Elizabeth, Hyde Popham, Home John, Harry Richard, Arthur Charles, Caroline, Emily Fanny Eliza and Matilda Anne.
Parker's elder brother, Hyde Parker III, like their father, became a notable English naval officer.