William Kerr (British Army officer, died 1741)

The Hon. William Kerr (died 17 January 1741) was a British Army officer who also served as a Scottish Member of Parliament (MP) in the Parliament of Great Britain.

He was the third son of Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe, and brother of John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe. He served with reputation on the Continent under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. In 1709 he was rewarded with the command of a regiment of dragoons (later the 7th Hussars), and on the accession of King George I he was appointed groom of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales. He highly distinguished himself at the Battle of Sheriffmuir on 13 November 1715, where, according to contemporary accounts, he had three horses killed under him, was wounded in the thigh, and had his coat torn by a pistol bullet. The care and attention which he paid to the interests of his corps procured him the affection and esteem of the officers and soldiers.

He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1727, to that of major-general in 1735, and to that of lieutenant-general in 1739. At the time of his death he had commanded his regiment nearly thirty-two years. He was unmarried.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Historical record of the Seventh, or, The Queen's Own Regiment of Hussars (1842) by Richard Cannon, p. 91-92

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• J. M. Simpson, KERR, Hon. William (bef. 1682-1741). in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754 (1970).