Connaught Rangers

Connaught Rangers, Officer's Shoulder Belt PLate, c.1830, gilt bronze and silver, the decoration applied to the stippled background, 95 x 76mm, the back with suspension hooks and studs. In excellent condition and very rare. An old note attached to this piece states "Doubtless belonged to Edward Cerjat Spencer, Captn 88th Reg. Born 1807 Died 1834. He was General William Spencer's fifth son". Edward Cerjat Spencer, of Starston, Norfolk, was appointed ensign in the 27th Regiment of Foot, 20 Feb, 1824 (from gentleman cadet, the Royal Military College); Lieutenant in the Royal Irish Regiment of Foot on 8 Apr 1825. In 1830 he was a captain in the 88th Regiment of Foot, the Connaught Rangers. He died at Starston Rectory. Children of Lieutenant General William (1754-1829) Spencer and Charlotte Spencer: * Reverend William Pakenham Spencer (d.1845) * Frances * Alicia Olivia (1801-1886) married in 1831 Alfred Ollivant (1798-1882), the Bishop of Llandaf.Children included: Alfred, colonel B.S.C., Joseph Earle, chancellor of the dioceses of Llandaff and St. David's, and Edward, colonel R.H.A. * Captain Edward Cerjat Spencer of Starston, Norfolk, died 1834 age 27 William Pakenham Spencer was admitted into Holy Orders as a deacon in 1824. In 1827(9) ? he was admitted to the rectory of the Parish church of Sterston St. Margaret in Norfolk. In 1831 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Norfolk and in 1834 appointed domestic chaplain to the Duke of Buccleuch. Edward Cerjat Spencer was appointed a Lieutenant in the Royal Irish Regiment of Foot on 8 Apr 1825. In 1830 he was a captain in the 88th Regiment of Foot (the Connaught Rangers) d. at Starston Rectory.