1827–1904
Biography · Military
James Swaby
1798–1863
United Kingdom
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Biography
James Swaby (14 January 1798 – 3 February 1863) was a Jamaican man of colour who was one of the first non-white commissioned officers in the British Army. He purchased a commission with the 49th Regiment of Foot when aged 16, and served as an ensign on half pay from 1814 to 20 November 1829. He was the son of John Swaby and Frances King, "a free mulatto".
Sources & collection details
Wikipedia contributors — original record ↗
Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13
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1912–2002
1888–1918