Lieutenant-Colonel Bradshaw York Reilly completed his education at Addiscombe and was gazetted to the Bengal Engineers as an Ensign in June 1823. Advanced to Lieutenant in May 1824, he participated in the siege operations before Bhurtpoor in the Burmese War 1824-26 and was again in action, as a Captain, in the Gwalior Campaign of 1843. Reilly was appointed a Commandant of the Corps in April 1843 and advanced to Major in late 1844, afterwards having command of several Companies at the Battle of Sobraon. Transferred to the Invalid Establishment as a Lieutenant-Colonel in November 1848, he died at Landaur in November 1853.