Robert Grenville, the 2nd Lord Brooke, was born in 1607 to minor nobility in Lincolnshire.
In 1628, at the age of just 21, he became MP for Warwick, and inherited Warwick Castle.
At the outset of the English Civil War he commanded the Parliamentarian forces in Staffordshire and Warwickshire. He took part in the battle for Stratford and also supplied troops to Edgehill.
In 1643, he was part of the Parliamentarian forces besieging Lichfield. The Royalists were pushed back into the Cathedral. As Lord Brooke approached the Cathedral up Dam Street, he was shot through the eye by a sniper, John Dyott, who was in the cathedral spire.
Lord Brooke is believed to be the first recorded death by sniper fire, and today a plaque can be found on the spot on Dam Street.
-