Batons of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Batons of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852), acquired many titles and honours including the rank of field marshal or equivalent in eight nations' armies. Each nation provided him with a baton as a symbol of his rank. The surviving batons are on display at Apsley House the former London residence of the Dukes of Wellington. At Wellington's funeral his military ranks were described as: At Wellington's lying in state, his batons of military rank were placed alongside the coffin on
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington his brother's term as Governor-General of India ended in March 1805, the brothers returned together to England on HMS "Howe". Arthur, coincidentally, stopped on his voyage at the little island of Saint Helena and stayed in the same building to which Napoleon I would later be exiled. In September 1805, Major-General Wellesley was newly returned from his campaigns in India and was not yet particularly well known to the public. He reported to the office of the Secretary for War to request a new assignment. In the waiting room he met Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, already a legendary figure after his