Earle, WILLIAM

Earle, WILLIAM, major-general, was born in Liverpool in 1833, entered the army in 1851, and served through the Crimea; he held several staff appointments abroad, and was military secretary to the governor-general of India in 1872-76. Promoted major-general in 1880, he commanded the garrison of Alexandria in 1882-84, and led a column of the Gordon rescue expedition, which was detached to punish the tribes who had murdered Colonel Stewart and Mr Power. The murderers' village was burned, and on February 10, 1885, the intrenched positions occupied by a strong force of Arabs at Kirbekan were successfully carried; but, while leading on his men, Earle was shot in the forehead and instantly killed. His body was brought back to England, where a fine statue has been erected in his native town.