Maj Gen John Williams Reynolds, FCS

Adapted from Miller, D. (2001). The Black Bottle Affair and its Family Background. Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Autumn 2001, Vol. 79, No. 319 (Autumn 2001), pp. 209-218.

John Williams Reynolds was born in London in 1816 and baptised the following year in St Marylebone Parish Church (where his father was buried in 1819). He entered Eton in April 1830, where he remained until mid-1834. At some time in this period, John became Henry Harvey's ward. After leaving school, John Williams Reynolds was commissioned into the 11th Light Dragoons, joining his Regiment for the first time in Cawnpore, in mid-1835.

Lieutenant-Colonel Lord James Brudenell took command of the Regiment in 1837. The following year he became the seventh Earl of Cardigan, following his father's death. In that same year, the 11th Dragoons moved back to Canterbury, and in 1840, the Regiment was redesignated 11th Prince Albert's Own Hussars after escorting Prince Albert on his way to marry Queen Victoria.

The "Black Bottle Affair", involving a misunderstanding on the part of the Earl of Cardigan and leading to a conflict with Captain John Reynolds that ended up in the national press in England, is described in detail in Miller's article (attached to this profile). Amongst other things, the fallout led to an initial refusal by the Earl to allow John to attend the staff officers' course, but permission was eventually granted after an intervention by the Military Secretary.

On 2 January 1841, John married his guardian's eldest daughter, Helen Harvey, in St Leonard's Church, Streatham. They had three children.

After completing the staff officers' course, John was placed on half pay. He became a student and then a researcher at the Chemical Society, where he contributed significantly to the growing but then little understood science of organic chemistry. He is credited, for example, with the discovery of the hydrocarbon, propylene, and his work led to his election as a Fellow of the Chemical Society (FCS). An academic article on propylene that was written by him has been attached to this profile.

In 1851, John was promoted to the rank of major. Following the outbreak of the Crimean War, John was brought back to full pay, promoted to lieutenant-colonel and sent to Jamaica as deputy adjutant-general, where he served from 1856 to the mid-1860s. Promotion to colonel followed in 1861, and in 1866 he undertook his final military posting at Headquarters Northern Command. He was promoted to major-general in 1874.

Maj Gen John Williams Reynolds died in Koblenz, Germany, in 1875. His widow, Helen, moved to the Mediterranean, where she resided in various hotels until her own death in Naples in 1887.