Draft:Thomas Huncks

Submission declined on 25 May 2025 by MWFwiki (talk). This submission's references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article—that is, they do not show significant coverage (not just passing mentions) about the subject in published, reliable, secondary sources that are independent of the subject (see the guidelines on the notability of people). Before any resubmission, additional references meeting these criteria should be added (see technical help and learn about mistakes to avoid when addressing this issue). If no additional references exist, the subject is not suitable for Wikipedia. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by MWFwiki 6 months ago. Last edited by BD2412 5 months ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

• Comment: I'm not sure what we have here meets WP:BIO. I mean, his knighthood — arguably the primary reason for his notability — is entirely glossed-over in the body of the article. I understand his military service details are "scant" — something which needs a citation, itself... you can't just unilaterally declare the details to be scant, even if they de facto are — but this would, again, arguably be where the weight of his notability would be. Find more information on his service and we may be in a better spot. MWFwiki (talk) 22:25, 25 May 2025 (UTC)

Sir Thomas Huncks (born 13 February 1551 or 1552, died 1631, aged 79 or 80) was an English soldier who fought for the Dutch Republic during the Eighty Years War and was knighted for this service by King James I in 1605.^[1] He was the father of three notable soldiers who fought on either side of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Colonel Sir Henry Huncks, Colonel Sir Foulk Huncks, and Colonel Hercules Huncks.

Huncks was born to an armigerous family (a family entitled to bear a coat of arms, indicating an ostensibly noble or aristocratic family) that traced its origins back to the 14th century in Gloucestershire, where they held the manor of Radbrooke.^[2] On 1571, he inherited the manor of Preston on Stour (then in Gloucestershire), purchased by his grandfather Thomas Huncks, but in 1594, under financial difficulties, sold off his inheritance.^[3][4] Some critical voices in his family claimed that he "wasted his estate."^[5]

Thomas Huncks was born on 13 February 1551 or 1552 as the son and heir of John Huncks the elder^{[2][failed verification]} and baptised at at Quinton, Warwickshire.^[6][7]

In 1587 he married Katherine, daughter of Sir John Conway of Arrow, Warwickshire.^[8][9] As the Hunckes declined, the Conways rose in status. Katherine's brother Edward Conway, became a Viscount and Secretary of State to King James. It was through the connection with the Conways that the Huncks family retained any influence after the loss of their landed estate. Conway was helpful in promoting his kin. In July 1625, he^[who?] wrote to to Sir John Ogle, "I could not let this bearer (Mr. Thomas Huncks the younger), my kinsman, pass to you without some remembrance that he comes from me. He is designed for an ensign's place and so stands in the list."^[10] On 2 December 1626, then Secretary of State, he requested that his relations Sir Thomas Conway and Sir Thomas Huncks "be preferred to some principal places of command."^[11]

Surviving children of the marriage, named in Katherine's 1635 Will^[12] were:

• (Sir) Henry
• Thomas
• Francis
• (Sir) Foulke
• (Col) Hercules
• Elizabeth
• Mary Baxter
• Elinor Archbold

All five of of these sons became soldiers.^[8] In 1616, Sir Thomas Huncks wrote his brother-in-law Edward Conway that he could not afford to support a son outside a career as a soldier.^[13]

Records of Huncks' long military career are scant;^{[citation needed][original research?]} he did not reach a higher rank than captain over at least 22 years of service, beginning by 1604 or earlier. In December 1626, a veteran quartermaster petitioned the Council of War, claiming that "after having served 22 years under the States General (of the Netherlands) with Captain Thomas Huncks ..." he was requesting his pay.^[14](subscription required)

It is notable that 1604 was the final year of the Siege of Ostend, in which the Dutch and their allies held off a three-year assault by Spanish forces. The next year, on 24 November 1605, Thomas Hunckes was knighted.^{[citation needed]}

Sir Thomas died in 1631,^{[8][failed verification]} the same year as his brother-in-law and patron, Viscount Conway.^[15] By 1641, when her (second) Will was dated, his widow had removed to County Antrim, Ireland, where her brother Edward had received a large grant of property.^[16] She left only a small estate.^{[citation needed]}