Airey was born on 6 September 1812, the son of Lieutenant-General
Sir George Airey, by Catherine, sister of
Richard Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot de Malahide.
Richard, Lord Airey, was his brother. He was commissioned as ensign in the
30th Foot on 11 February 1830, became lieutenant on 3 May 1833, and exchanged to the
3rd Buffs on 23 August. He was
aide-de-camp to the
governor of Madras,
Sir Frederick Adam, from May 1834 to July 1837. On 26 January 1841 he was appointed extra aide-de-camp to Major-General
William George Keith Elphinstone, and accompanied him to
Afghanistan during the
First Anglo-Afghan War. In the latter part of that year he was present at the forcing of the Khoord Cabul pass, and the actions near Kabul, and on 21 December he was given up of his own accord to
Akbar Khan as a hostage. He was released with the other captives on 21 September 1842, joined the force sent into Kohistan under Brigadier M'Caskill, and was present at the capture of
Istalif. He was twice
mentioned in despatches (12 October 1841 and 30 September 1842), and received the Afghan medal. He also received the
Gwalior Star for the
Gwalior campaign of 1843, in which he took part with his regiment. He was promoted captain on 22 July 1842, and was aide-de-camp to the
governor of Ceylon from April 1847 to March 1851. On 11 November 1851 he became regimental major, and on 17 July 1854 he exchanged to the
Coldstream Guards as captain and lieutenant-colonel. He served throughout the
Crimea War with the
Light Division as assistant quartermaster-general, being present at the
Battles of Alma,
Balaclava,
Inkerman, and the
assault on the Redan, and he accompanied the expedition to
Kerch. He was three times mentioned in despatches (28 September and 11 November 1854, 18 September 1855). He received the
Crimea Medal with four clasps, the
Turkish Crimea Medal, the
Legion of Honour (5th class), and the
Medjidie (4th class). He was made a
Companion of the Bath on 5 July 1855. He was promoted colonel on 26 December 1859, and became regimental major in the Coldstream Guards on 22 May 1866. He was promoted major-general on 6 March 1868, and commanded the troops at
Malta from 21 August 1875 to 31 December 1878. He became lieutenant-general on 1 October 1877, and was placed on the retired list on 1 July 1881, with the honorary rank of general. He was made
Knight Commander of the Bath on 2 June 1877, and colonel of the 2nd Battalion,
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 13 March 1886, a position he held until his death. He died in London on 1 January 1898. He was unmarried. ==References==