Career
Verney joined the British Army for the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot in 1819 and was sent to the country's legation in the German states Württemberg and Baden, learning during this time German, French and Italian. He returned to England in the following year and was allocated to the 7th (Royal Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot. From 1824, he served with the Grenadier Guards and from 1826 was private secretary in the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. Verney was meant to accompany Lord William Bentinck on his appointment as Governor-General of India, however during the journey was left ill in Rio de Janeiro, where he recovered, later hunting with natives in the Pampas and the Andes. His voyage home led him around the Cape of Good Hope on board a ship, commanded by Sir Michael Seymour and in 1829, he arrived in England again. Verney was promoted to major in 1831 and was transferred to the Royal Buckinghamshire Militia (King's Own) in 1844, retiring two years later.
Verney entered the British House of Commons in 1832, sitting as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham until 1841. After a six-year break, he was successful for Bedford and represented it until 1852. Verney was again returned for Buckingham in 1857 until the 1874 general election. In 1880, he was reelected for the constituency for the following five years. In 1885, in his final year in the House, Verney was sworn a Privy Counsellor.
Verney was nominated a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and a Justice of the Peace for the same county. He was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and one of the founders of the Royal Agricultural Society. Verney acted as chairman of the Buckinghamshire Railway Company and deputy chairman of the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway Company.
Read more about this topic: Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet
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