William Spry (British Army officer)

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Lieutenant-General William Spry (1734-1802) was born in Titchfield, Hampshire, in 1734, the son of George Spry and Elizabeth Short.

He joined the Royal Engineers and gradually rose through the ranks.

In about 1770, while a Captain, William Spry purchased some land in Nova Scotia and established the settlement known as Spryfield. He sold his property in 1783 and returned to England.

In the same year he was made a Colonel in the Royal Engineers, rising to the rank of Major-General (1793) and later Lieutenant-General (1799).

Spry died in 1802 and is supposedly buried under the clock tower of St Margaret's, Westminster.

William was descended from the Spry family of Roseland, Cornwall, which bred many army and navy officers. His brother was Lieutenant-General Horatio Spry (1730-1811) and his son was Major-General William Frederick Spry (1770-1814).

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