Marble Bust of Major General E S Burnaby by John Gibson RA
Edwyn Sherard Burnaby (1830-1883) was Major-General in the British Army, Member of Parliament for Leicestershire North and Honorary Colonel of the 1st Leicestershire Rifle Volunteer Corps.
He was son and heir of Edwyn and Anne Burnaby of Baggrave Hall, at Hungarton. Edwyn's sister Louisa later became great grandmother to Queen Elizabeth II.
He entered the Grenadier Guards in 1848 and fought against the Russians at the Battle of Inkerman and the Siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War (1853-56). From 1855 to 1857 he served as Brigadier-General of the British Italian Legion.
In 1864 Edwyn married Louisa Dixie and they had two children, Algernon and Hilda. Algernon Burnaby won the Midnight Steeplechase in 1890.
John Gibson (1790-1866) was born in Wales, before the family moved to Liverpool, he later studied in Italy. Gibson was a highly regarded artist and left the contents of his studio to the Royal Academy on his death in 1866.
