[2] In 1686, he married Anna Morel (died 1704) and they had five surviving children; Roger Handasyd (1689-1763), Thomas (1692-1729), William (1693-1745), who all served in the military, as well as Clifford (1695-1772) and Anne (1697-1777).

[6] Before seeing active service, the war ended in January 1674 and many of these recruits transferred to one of the English regiments of the Scots Brigade, a mercenary unit employed by the Dutch.

[7] The Brigade accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution; Handaysd served in the 1689-1691 Williamite War in Ireland, including the Battle of the Boyne.

After the 1691 Treaty of Limerick, he was among those transferred to Flanders during the Nine Years War, by which time he was captain of the Grenadier company, a unit composed of elite assault troops.

[9] This was part of a force sent to retake St. John's, Newfoundland; captured by the French in June 1696, it was strategically important due to its proximity to the cod fishing areas of the Grand Banks.

The island was a key resupply point for the Royal Navy; in March 1703, an English squadron under John Graydon was sent to attack the French town of Placentia, in Newfoundland.