George Thatcher

George Thatcher (28 April 1752 – 22 February 1811) was a brigadier general who served under James Carrington during his invasion of Brunant and later served as General of the Royal Guard from 1793 to his death in 1811.

Early life
George Thatcher was born in the town of Bristol, England as the fifth and last child of Catholic abolitionist Richard Thatcher (1719 –1775) and his wife Elizabeth Bradford. In 1757, the family moved to the town of York in northern England to avoid religious discrimination in southern England. At an early age, Thatcher learned how to use firearms due to his father being a hunting enthusiast. As such, he became infactuated with the military and was educated by multiple militiamen throughout his youth.

At the age of 18 in 1770, Thatcher emigrated to Rotterdam in the Netherlands in order to join the army, as during those times Catholics were not allowed to join the army in Britain. For five years, he served as a musketman and didn't serve in any major wars. Following the ratification of the Catholic Relief Act in 1778 which allowed Catholics to join the army, Thatcher emigrated back to England and settled in northern London. He then served in the American Revolutionary War as a lieutenant. After the war ended with the Treaty of Paris in September 1783, Thatcher and his regiment moved back to Britain. He decided to abandon the regiment weeks later and founded his own mercenary company comprised of around 400 men by 1784.

Invasion of Brunant
In early 1784, British nobleman James Carrington hired Thatcher's mercenary group to serve in his upcoming invasion of Brunant, and also appointed Thatcher himself as a brigadier general. Following Carrington's landing in Brunant near the town of Sint-Markstad, he served along with marshal Owen Halsey MacLellan in the Battle of Donderstad. After they won a decisive victory, the regiment that served in the battle was split between Thatcher and MacLellan, and Thatcher's regiment participated in the 3-day siege of Dortmund. The regiment later finally served in the Battle of Grijzestad, where Thatcher killed almost 10 Royal Guardsmen alone.

Post-war life
After the war ended in a decisive victory for Carrington and his men, the new President of Brunant briefly appointed Thatcher as his first and only Minister of Defence from April 1785 to October 1786, when he was position was relinquished after Carrington wanted to fully consolidate his position as the sole leader of the country. Thatcher then decided to finally settle down in Grijzestad, and married Ambrosia Toorde in 1788. In 1793, Carrington decided to appoint Thatcher as General of the Royal Guard for life. After Carrington was assassinated in 1802, Thatcher declared him "a national hero, worthy of all praise". Thatcher himself died of pneumonia in 1811.

Personal life
In 1788, Thatcher married Brunanter native Ambrosia Toorde, and had three children with her: Edward, John, and Catherine. Thatcher was a devout Catholic throughout his entire life, and was an abolitionist.