The family of the Bretts ‘came over with the Conqueror’, and the name is to be found on the battle roll of Hastings. The old name was again brought prominently forward by the then head of the family, Sir Richard Lebrett, being one of the knights concerned in the slaying of Thomas À Beckett, and again when Captain Brett of the City Trained Bands, took up arms, under Sir Thomas Wyatt, in the cause of Princess Elizabeth against her sister, Queen Mary. … [Edwin’s] father was an officer in the British Army, and served through the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the Peninsular, and Waterloo. Soon after Waterloo he retired from the service, and married, living to the honoured old age of just ninety. Mr. Brett’s mother as a cousin of the celebrated Lady Mary Small, and it was doubtless from…

3376 words

Citation: Collins, Dick. "Edwin John Brett". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 January 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12538, accessed 19 March 2024.]

12538 Edwin John Brett 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.