married to John, lord Dynham. On Robert's death in 1522, without surviving male issue, the barony fell into abeyance between the two daughters of his son Edward: Elizabeth, wife of Sir Fulke Greville [see under Greville, Sir Fulke, first Lord Brooke], and Blanch, wife of Sir Francis Dawtrey. A descendant of the elder daughter, Richard Verney, successfully claimed the barony in 1696 [see Verney, Richard, third Baron Willoughby de Broke].
[Historiæ Croylandensis Continuatio in Gale's Scriptores (Oxford, 1684), pp. 451–578; Polydore Vergil's Historia Anglica (ed. Leyden, 1651); Hall's Chron. 1809; Machado's Journals in Gairdner's Memorials of Henry VII (Rolls Ser. 1858); Patent Rolls of Henry VII, MS. R. O.; Rymer's Fœdera (ed. 1741); Rotuli Parliamentorum, vol. vi.; Gairdner's Letters and Papers of Richard III and Henry VII (2 vols. 1861); Campbell's Materials for a Hist. of Henry VII (2 vols. 1873); Bacon's Hist. of Henry VII, ed. Ellis and Spedding, 1858; Works, vol. vi.; Ashmole's Order of the Garter, 1672; Anstis's Register of the Garter, 2 vols. 1724; Beltz's Order of the Garter, 1841; Collinson's Hist. of Somerset, 3 vols. 1791; Lysons's Magna Britannia, vol. vi.; ‘Devonshire’ (1822); Risdon's Survey of Devonshire, 1811; Hoare's Modern Wiltshire, vol. iv.; Collins's Peerage, ed. Brydges, 1812, vol. vi.; G. E. C[okayne]'s Complete Peerage, 1898; Busch's König Heinrich VII (Stuttgart, 1892).]
WILLS, Sir CHARLES (1666–1741), general, son of Anthony Wills of St. Gorran, Cornwall, by ‘Jenofer’ (Guinevere), his wife, was baptised at St. Gorran on 23 Oct. 1666 (Parish Register). His father, whose family had been settled in Cornwall since early in the sixteenth century, farmed his own land, and, having encumbered his estate with debts, quitted the same at the revolution and offered his services and those of six of his sons to the Prince of Orange, who, it is said, gave them all commissions (Parochial Hist. of Cornwall, pp. 11, 101). Charles Wills appears to have been appointed a subaltern in Colonel Thomas Erle's foot regiment (disbanded in 1698), with which corps he served in the Irish campaign. On 1 July 1691 he was appointed captain in the regiment known as the 19th foot, the colonelcy of which had been bestowed on Erle on 1 Jan. 1691. Wills served several campaigns in Flanders, including the battle of Landen. On 6 Nov. 1694 he was appointed major to Colonel Thomas Saunderson's foot regiment, and on 1 May 1697 was promoted lieutenant-colonel. A few months later Saunderson's foot was disbanded and the officers placed on half-pay. On the formation of Viscount Charlemont's foot regiment in Ireland (28 June 1701), Wills was appointed to the lieutenant-colonelcy, and in the following spring embarked with his corps for Cadiz.
Thence Charlemont's regiment was sent to the West Indies, where Wills gained distinction in the island of Guadeloupe, and several towns were burnt after the French troops had been defeated. In the action at La Bayliffe ‘Colonel Wills behaved himself with great bravery’ (London Gazette, 10 May 1703. He succeeded to the command of the troops on shore in April 1703; and, after burning and destroying the French towns and fortifications along the coast, he embarked his troops on board the squadron on 7 May 1703, bringing away all the captured French guns. After losing many officers and men in the West Indies, Charlemont's regiment (36th foot) returned to Ireland in the winter of 1703–4.
In 1705 Wills accompanied the Earl of Peterborough to Spain as quartermaster-general, and served almost uninterruptedly in the Peninsula until December 1710. He was at the taking of Barcelona on 4 Oct. 1705, and nine days later was appointed colonel of a regiment of marines (30th foot), vice Thomas Pownall. Wills was subsequently second in command in the district of Lerida, and rendered valuable service in the important action at San Estevan, where he commanded after Major-general Conyngham was mortally wounded (26 Jan. 1706); again distinguished himself at the defence of the town of Lerida, which capitulated after an obstinate defence; was appointed a brigadier-general on 1 Jan. 1707; commanded 1,500 marines and a Spanish regiment in Sardinia (1708), and reduced Cagliari. He was promoted major-general on 1 Jan. 1709, and appointed commander-in-chief of the forces on board Admiral Baker's fleet on 17 June in the same year.
Wills fought at Almenara in 1710, and commanded an infantry brigade at the battle of Saragossa. He was thereupon recommended to Queen Anne for promotion to the grade of lieutenant-general (Marlborough Despatches, v. 168), which rank had been already conferred on him in Spain by Charles III, the titular king. In the unfortunate action at Brihuega on 1 Dec. 1710, Wills earned fresh laurels, and was mentioned in General Stanhope's despatches as having been ‘during the action at the post which was attacked with most vigour and which he as resolutely defended.’ After suffering a rigorous imprisonment of some
