William Thomas Knollys

General Sir William Thomas Knollys KCB (1 August 1797 – 23 June 1883) was a British Army General who reached high office in the 1860s.

Military career
Born into the Knollys family, he was the son of General William Woods Knollys and Charlotte Martha Blackwell. He was and educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Knollys was commissioned into the 3rd Guards in 1813 and fought in the Peninsular War later that year.

In 1854 he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey and then in 1855 he became the first General Officer Commanding Aldershot Division and was allocated the task of organising his troops into Divisions and Brigades. Having achieved this task he was made President of the Council of Military Education in 1861.

In 1862 he was appointed Treasurer and Comptroller to the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. In 1877 he became Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod.

He was also a Privy Counsellor and Colonel of the Scots Guards.

He is buried at Highgate Cemetery.

Family
In 1830 he married Elizabeth St Aubyn and together they went on to have five sons and three daughters.