Irish diaspora common ancestries in the United States because of the events that took place over a century ago. Irishmen have been known in India right from the days of the East India Company. While most of the early Irish came as traders, some also came as soldiers. However, the majority of these traders and soldiers were from the Protestant Ascendancy. Prominent among them were the generals Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852) who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1834 and his brother Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley (1760–1842), who was Governor-General of India (1798–1805) and a great-great-great
Lord George Wellesley Military Cross in 1916. Lord Arthur Wellesley married Louise Nesta Pamela FitzGerald, daughter of Sir Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Baronet, and Amelia Catherine Bischoffsheim, on 12 March 1917 at Saint Thomas Church in Manhattan, New York City. She was the widow of his elder brother Richard. Lord Arthur Wellesley was appointed a wing commander in the RFC, with the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel, on 1 October 1917. He gained the rank of squadron leader in 1939 in the service of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR). He fought in the Second World War between 1939 and 1945. He was