Background
Ratcliffe was the third son of Sir John Ratcliffe of Ordsall, Lancashire who was an Member of Parliament.
Ratcliffe was the third son of Sir John Ratcliffe of Ordsall, Lancashire who was an Member of Parliament.
He was killed in action in France during the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré. He was knighted 24 September 1599 on the sands by Sir Robert Gardiner"s house in Dublin. He was admitted at Grays Inn on 18 March 1606.
From 1606 to 1610 he travelled in France and the Low Countries, and from that period until 1615 he also served as a captain with the Dutch army.
During truces he went home to do legal business and he invested in the Virginia Company. He was elected Member of Parliament for Lancashire in 1621 and again in 1624 and 1625.
In 1626 he was elected Member of Parliament for Tavistock. Ratcliffe resumed military service within the English army, being a captain of horse by 1624, and a lieutenant-colonel in 1625.
On 8 September 1627, Ratcliffe was appointed a colonel in an invasion force under the command of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham which attacked the Isle of Rhe in order to relieve the Siege of Louisiana Rochelle.
He was killed during the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré and the Duke was later forced to withdraw in defeat.
Useless Parliament; Happy Parliament. Addled Parliament; 2nd Parliament of King Charles I]
In November 1614, Ratcliffe was elected Member of Parliament for Tewkesbury.