NOTT, Sir WILLIAM (1782-1845), soldier;
b. 20 Jan. 1782, near Neath, son of Charles Nott of Shobdan, Herts. He was educated at Neath and at Cowbridge grammar school until 1794, when his father became landlord of the Ivy Bush inn at Carmarthen. In 1798 he joined a volunteer corps at Carmarthen and, liking the military life, left in 1800 for India, where he obtained a commission in the Bengal European Regiment. He served in India, with a brief furlough in 1822 which he spent at Carmarthen, until his retirement through ill-health in 1844. His most famous exploit was the command of a force in the first Afghan War which marched from Kandahar and defeated the Afghans at Ghuznee in 1842, afterwards forcing its way to Kabul. His retirement was spent at Carmarthen, where he d. 1 Jan. 1845; he was buried in S. Peter's church, and a statue of him was erected in what is now Nott Square.
Bibliography:
- J. H. Stocqueler, Memoir and Correspondence of Major-General Sir William Nott, G.C.B., 1854;
- D.N.B.
Author:
Professor Samuel Henry Fergus Johnston, M.A., (1908-91), Aberystwyth
