Whitcombe, William |
| ADVENTURER (ENGLAND) |
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BORN 3 Mar 1806 - DIED 6 Oct 1832, Corsham, Wiltshire GRAVE LOCATION Sherston Magna (near Corsham), Wiltshire: church (South Aisle) |
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Youngest child of the lawyer Sir Samuel Whitcombe. At a young age he joined the East India Company's Navy and in 1824 he offered his services to the London Greek Committee. In 1825 he arrived in Greece. Put on to it by Captain J.W. Fenton he attacked E.J. Trelawny, who was a member of the clan around the chief Odysseus that lived in a cave in the mountains. Trelawny was hit in the back by two bullets but he survived and spared Whitcombe's life. Whitcombe's name was defiled and little is known about him until he joined the British Army on 25 Jun 1830. He left for the East Indies, but in 1832 he was back in England. A few months later he was found dead in an inn, but there were no signs of a crime. He was buried in the church of in Magna Sherston where his brother was the vicar. The anonymously published 'novel' "Sketches of the War in Greece" is almost certainly written by Whitcombe. Related persons • attacked Trelawny, Edward John Events |
| 11/6/1825 | William Whitcombe shoots two bullets in the back of Trelawny. Young Whitcombe was encouraged to do so by J.W. Fenton. Trelalny was badly injured but he survived the attack. Fenton was immediately killed by one of Trelawny's Greek soldiers. Whitcombe was caught and the soldiers wanted to roast him alive. But Trelawny insisted on his release. [Trelawny, Edward John] |
Sources • Crane, David, Lord Byron's Jackal, The life of Edward John Trelawny, Harper Collins Publishers, London, 1998 |