Justin Sheil

Major General Sir Justin Sheil, KCB (2 December 1803 – 17 April 1871) was a British Army officer and diplomat.

Sheil was born Rathpatrick, County Kilkenny, the son of Edward Sheil, a merchant, and his wife, Catherine "née" MacCarthy, and a brother of Richard Lalor Sheil. Educated at Stonyhurst College, he was nominated to an Honourable East India Company cadetship. On arriving in India, he was posted as an ensign to the 3rd Bengal Infantry on 4 March 1820. Exchanged to the 35th Bengal Infantry, of which he became an adjutant, he was present at the Siege of Bharatpur in 1826. He became a captain on 13 April 1830, and on 4 July 1833, was appointed second in command of the disciplined troops in Persia under Colonel Pasmore, who had specially recommended him to Lord William Bentinck for this service. Pasmore wrote that he was sensible, well-informed, and conciliatory. On 16 February 1836, he was appointed secretary to the British legation in Persia, and in 1844, he succeeded Sir John McNeill as minister there, and continued such until he retired in 1854. He married in 1847, Mary Leonora (died 1869), only daughter of the politician, Stephen Woulfe. He contributed to his wife's book, "Glimpses of Life and Manners in Persia" (1856), and two articles in the journal of the Royal Geographical Society. He had been promoted to the rank of major on 17 February 1841, and became a major general in 1859. In 1848, he was created a CB, and promoted to a KCB in 1855. He died at 13 Eaton Place, London, on 17 April 1871.

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