Tobias Bridge

Sir Tobias Bridge was fought for Parliament in the English Civil War, served the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell during the Interregnum and after the restoration he served King Charles II.

During the English Civil War, Bridge fought for Parliament under Fairfax. During the Interregnum he was an active supporter of Oliver Cromwell served on several influential committees. From 1655 and 1659 he as a Colonel of Horse, and on the death of Charles Worsley he succeeded to the governorship of Cheshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire district during the second half of 1656 of the Rule of the Major-Generals.

During the Second Commonwealth, in the immediate prelude to the restoration of the monarchy, he served as a major in Sir Lord Lockhart's Regiment of Horse at Dunkirk, and after the restoration he was appointed Captain of Horse at Dunkirk, a post where he took direct orders from the Governor of Dunkirk and King Charles II. He held the post until 1662 when Dunkirk was sold to France. On his return from Dunkirk he was commissioned into the Duke of Richmond's Regiment as a captain.

A year after he was knighted in 1666, Bridge went to Barbados as colonel of his regiment. In 1672 he commanded the local land forces against Tobago in one of the many wars over that island. In 1674 he was admitted to the council of Barbados. He probably died in Bridgetown, a town named after him and the capital of Barbados.