Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Richard Thomas Glyn/archive1

Support by Nick-D

This is a very interesting article, especially as it provides a snapshot of the military forces and personnel that built and sustained the British Empire (and without glamorising them). I have only the following comments:

• "and was afterwards posted on garrison duty across the British Empire" - was Glyn moved around as part of this? There's currently no details on how or when he went from India to Malta

There's a history of the regiment from 1892 that I had originally discounted because of its age and being written by its own officers but I think it should be OK for detail on its postings which I can't source elsewhere. Added some info, including an interesting snippet of service during the Fenian Rising.

• "across the border in nearby Spain" - 'nearby' doesn't seem necessary

Removed

• "Chelmsford was concerned about the forces of two Zulu chiefs, Matshana kaMondisa of the Sithole clan and Matshana kaSitshakuza of the Mchunu clan, who he thought were gathering a force" - repetition of 'force' in the same sentence

Good spot, removed "the forces of", which I didn't think was necessary

• "outbreak of disease" - can you say what disease(s)?

Added - Dumelow (talk) 11:51, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

• "By the end of April, Glyn was at Dundee" - specify that this is the town in South Africa rather than the much better known one in Scotland.

Good point, added ", Natal"

• Do we know when/if Glyn recovered from his depression following Isandlwana? The first para of the 'second invasion' section suggests he was still not fully effective as a military commander.

I don't think so but I can't find too much commentary on his behaviour during the second invasion, I assume he sort of slotted back into a subordinate role under Chelmsford without a great deal to do. Greaves (2012) has "Glyn never recovered from losing his regiment at Isandlwana" and Greaves & Knight (2006) on his retirement has "a sad and stooped little man, Glyn's remaining years were overshadowed by the memory of his lost family on the rocky slopes of Isandlwana". I've summarised in the article as "In retirement Glyn lived in Mortimer Common in Berkshire, his final years were gloomy, haunted by the memory of Isandlwana." but happy to hear suggestion - Dumelow (talk) 12:06, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

• "Glyn was promoted to major-general on 30 September 1882" - no duties associated with this are noted: was it essentially an honorific?

I've not been able to find anything he did in this period. I don't know if he perhaps remained on half pay and it was granted as a means of boosting his pension - Dumelow (talk) 15:37, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

• Do any sources discuss Glyn as a person during the last decades of his life in the UK? It must have been a significant change returning to the country after living for most of his life overseas. Nick-D (talk) 01:09, 13 April 2026 (UTC)

Not much, except or the comments noted above about the memories of Isandlwana - Dumelow (talk) 12:10, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the review Nick-D, I've made some replies above and will come back on the rest once I've checked the relevant sources - Dumelow (talk) 12:41, 13 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi Nick-D, I think I have come back on everything above now - Dumelow (talk) 15:37, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

Support Those changes look good, and I'm happy to support this nomination. Nick-D (talk) 07:42, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

Support by AA

*Putting a placeholder here. I'll review over the coming days. AA (talk) 20:52, 17 April 2026 (UTC)
Lead

• To avoid ambiguity in the lead, could "general rank" perhaps be linked to his substantiative rank?

Now linked to general officer

Early career

• Is there any information on how or where he was educated?

Alas the sources have very little on his early life

I couldn't find anything even briefly mentioning his education on BNA either. AA (talk) 08:39, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

• Two uses of "with his regiment" in consecutive sentences. Could this be reworded to avoid repetition?

Replaced the first one with "with the 82nd Regiment"

• The mention of the burial of his sons on Malta is quite sudden, and prior to this there is no mention of their deaths. Might it be possible to introduce this to the reader in a sentence or two before, briefly describing how they died?

There's not much out there but I have scraped together a little more info from birth records and the British Newspaper Archive and added that, which may help? Their deaths are not mentioned in the garrison medical officer's annual reports for the period and there is no specific link to any disease outbreaks of the time (Richard Oliver Couper died before the November 1867 cholera outbreak in the garrison).

This is really helpful and a great addition. Glyn never had much good fortune, by the sounds of it. AA (talk) 08:42, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

Cape Colony

• "and led expeditions that lasted up to ten days at a time" → "and led expeditions lasting up to ten days at a time"

Agreed and changed

9th Cape Frontier War

• Nothing to add here. Can't see any standout issues with structure or grammar. The section adequately and concisely details Glyn's role in the war.

Anglo-Zulu War

• Link Baron Chelmsford to Viscount Chelmsford.

Done

• "...gave Glyn command of his No. 3 Column." Could "his" be dropped here? No worries if not, might be the proper military lingo!

No, not needed. Removed

First invasion

• "On 24 January the Natal Native Contingent at the post mutinied." The NNC abbreviation can be used here.

Done

• "Effete" is a very niche word, I wonder if linking it to the Wiktionary definition might be beneficial? (wiktionary:effete).

Agreed and done, I didn't know of its older use meaning "exhausted, spent, worn-out", which I suspect was what was intended here rather than the modern use

Must admit, I had only heard of the word once or twice in my 36 years, so I had to Google its meaning! Think you are correct with the older use being intended here. AA (talk) 08:48, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

Second invasion

• 2 → two, per WP:MOS.

A list like this "The British force, more than 5,000 strong and supported by 12 artillery pieces and 2 gatling guns," is an exception (MOS:NUMNOTES: "Comparable values near one another should be all spelled out or all in figures, even if some of the numbers would (or could) normally be written differently: patients' ages were five, thirty-two, and one hundred one or ages were 5, 32, and 101, but not ages were five, 32, and 101 or ages were five, thirty-two, and 101.")

Fair enough, no contention from me! AA (talk) 08:48, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

• "Glyn had returned to Natal by 26 August..." not sure "had" is needed here.

Removed

Later career and death

• "In retirement Glyn lived in Mortimer Common in Berkshire, his final years were gloomy, haunted by the memory of Isandlwana". This might be better served with a semicolon after "Berkshire".

Done

• Do we know when he moved just over the county border to Hampshire?

Good spot. I think its the same place, his residence is given as "Stratfield Saye, Mortimer" in directories of the time. I've amended this just to "Stratfield Saye".

The house is ~600 metres over the county border in Hampshire, so that's probably why sources interchange Berkshire/Hampshire! AA (talk) 08:48, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

Footnotes

• Some brilliant footnotes here, that would be useful for several of my Hampshire cricketers who purchased commissions!

Yes, Glyn really came in just at the end of the era, he must have been one of the last men in the army to purchase a lieutenant-colonelcy. A traditional officer who seems to have had few ambitions beyond his regiment.

Was thinking it was a high rank to purchase, most of the Hampshire cricketers that had purchased commissions only pruchased up to lieutenant. AA (talk) 08:48, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

• Could the equivalents be updated to 2026 values?

The conversion is done by template:inflation it will automatically update as the indices are updated

References

• Ref 19 needs a Wayback Machine archive link.

Done

Bibliography

• Bruce and Paton et al. need |via=Internet Archive adding to them, plus |url-access=registration.

Done

Categories

• As comprehensive as they can be! I have added Category:Burials in Surrey.

Images

• File:Richard Thomas Glyn.jpg needs |alt= added to the infobox.
• All other images used in the main body need |alt= added as well.

I've had a go at adding alt text to all images

• Fair use rationale seems to check out for all the images used, with appropriate tags.

@Dumelow: Please find my review above. An interesting read and a rather tragic man. It would seem toward the end of his career, the bad things that had happened to him began to overwhelm him, with his "survivors" guilt from his absence at Isandlwana tipping him over the edge. AA (talk) 12:15, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks so much for your thorough and helpful review, AA (as always). I've responded down to "References" above and will pick up the last points shortly - Dumelow (talk) 05:41, 21 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi AA, I think I have come back on everything now - Dumelow (talk) 11:57, 21 April 2026 (UTC)

You're welcome! Happy to support this nomination. A very interesting read; Glyn was certainly a man not blessed by good fortune. AA (talk) 08:50, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

Harry

This article is in excellent shape. Just a few nits to pick:

• Not sure the CB is lead-worthy; it's fairly standard for officers of a certain rank or in certain posts

Trimmed out

• Do we know why he transferred regiments? The footnote mentions desirability—was the new regiment more desirable?

The sources don't say and I am not aware that one regiment was more socially desirable than the other. Sometimes men transferred to avoid posting abroad (or vice versa to avoid returning to England where the cost of living was higher and allowances lower) but the man he exchanged with (William Douglas Hall Baillie) had been with the regiment in India since 1846 and the 24th remained in India until 1861.

• In September 1863 the battalion was posted to North Camp, Aldershot and it moved to Shorncliffe Army Camp in Kent in April 1884 is this a typo? Is it supposed to be 1864 given that the next sentence is in 1865?

Yes, well spotted! Fixed

• During Glyn's absence, the Zulu royal army attacked the camp at the Battle of Isandlwana, Pulleine deployed his troops in the open order tactics Glyn and Chelmsford had used in the 9th Frontier War appears to be a comma splice

Changed with a full stop

• Glyn was given command of Rorke's Drift by Chelmsford active voice would be better here, especially as the "he" in the next sentence is Glyn, not Chelmsford

Done, I also switched "he" for Glyn as I thought some possibility for confusion remained, but feel free to revert if you think it is better

• Perhaps add an inline explanation of "effete" as well as the Wiktionary link?

Good idea. I've given the original meaning in square brackets and an explanation in a footnote, let me know your thoughts.

• he chose not to call Glyn as a witness Do we know if this was because of Glyn's mental status or just that he was to be made a scapegoat?

The latter. There's a bit more detail in the source that I have added, let me know what you think

That's it! HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 21:42, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

Hi Harry, thanks so much for your review and edits (which I agree with). I've made some changes and responded above. All the best - Dumelow (talk) 05:58, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

Support. I'm happy that my few quibbles have been addressed. Source review: The article contains everything I would expect in a military biography of this era (I note Nick's comment about later life but it's rare for all but the most prominent figures to receive much coverage in retirement unless they go out of their way to attract coverage). The article is mostly based on book sources; all sources appear reliable and there are no works I'm aware of that are obviously missing. I haven't spot checked but can if desired. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 13:14, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

• Closing note: This candidate has been promoted, but there may be a delay in bot processing of the close. Please see WP:FAC/ar, and leave the {{featured article candidates}} template in place on the talk page until the bot goes through. Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs ^talk 20:00, 20 May 2026 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.