| Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood VC, KCB, GCMG |
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|---|---|
Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood |
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| Born | 9 February 1838 Cressing, Essex |
| Died | 2 December 1919 (aged 81) Harlow, Essex |
| Buried at | Aldershot Military Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy British Army |
| Years of service | 1854–1907 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Commands held | Aldershot Command Quartermaster-General to the Forces Adjutant General Southern Command |
| Battles/wars | Crimean War Indian Mutiny Third Anglo-Ashanti War Anglo-Zulu War First Boer War Mahdist War |
| Awards | Crimea Medal Indian Mutiny Medal Ashantee Medal South Africa Medal Queen's South Africa Medal Queen's Sudan Medal |
| Other work | Constable of the Tower of London |
Field Marshal Sir Henry Evelyn Wood VC, GCB, GCMG (9 February 1838 – 2 December 1919) was a British Field Marshal and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
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Wood was born at Cressing near Braintree, Essex as the fifth and youngest son of Sir John Page Wood, 2nd Baronet,[1] and an elder brother of Katherine Parnell (Kitty O'Shea). Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet, was his grandfather and Lord Chancellor William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley was an uncle. He was educated at Marlborough College.[1]
Wood served as a midshipman in the Crimean War during the siege of Sebastopol.[1] Seriously wounded in an attack on the Redan,[1] Wood was mentioned in despatches. He then left the Royal Navy to join the British Army, becoming a cornet in the 13th Light Dragoons[1] and then a lieutenant in the 17th Lancers.[1] In India, he saw action at Rajghur, Sindwaho, Kharee, and Barode during the Indian Mutiny.
On 19 October 1858 during an action at Sindwaho while in command of a troop of light cavalry, twenty-year-old Lieutenant Wood attacked a body of rebels, whom he routed almost single-handedly. At Sindhora, with the help of a daffadar and a sowar, he rescued a local merchant from a band of robbers who had taken their captive into the jungle, where they intended to hang him. For this, Wood was awarded the Victoria Cross.[2]
His citation reads:
"For having, on the 19th of October, 1858, during Action at Sindwaho, when in command of a Troop of the 3rd Light Cavalry, attacked with much gallantry, almost single handed, a body of Rebels who had made a stand, whom he routed. Also, for having subsequently, near Siudhora, gallantly advanced with a Duffadar and Sowar of Beatson's Horse, and rescued from a band of robbers, a Potail, Chemmum Singh, whom they had captured and carried off to the Jungles, where they intended to hang him."[3]
In 1861, Wood was promoted to captain[4] and in 1862, he became a brevet major[4] in the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot. In 1865, he left the infantry for the cavalry again. After a stint as an aide-de-camp in Dublin, Wood was given a staff position until 1871, when he became a full major in the 90th Foot.[4]
In 1873, Wood was promoted brevet lieutenant-colonel and in 1874, he served in the Ashanti War.[4] Until 1878, Wood was a member of the staff at Aldershot.[4]
In January 1879, he took part in the Anglo-Zulu War and was given command of the left column of the army that crossed the Zulu frontier, and shortly afterwards he received the local rank of brigadier general. Defeated at Hlobane, he recovered and decisively beat the Zulus at Kambula[4] and also took part in the final battle at Ulundi.[4]
At the close of the war, Evelyn Wood became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath[4] and was appointed to command the Chatham district.[4] With the First Boer War going on, Wood was sent back to South Africa in January 1881 with the local rank of major general. He remained in Natal until February 1882, was awarded the Order of St Michael and St George and then returned to the Chatham command.[5]
Wood was given command of a brigade in the Egyptian expedition in the Mahdist War.[5] He was made Sirdar (commander) of the Egyptian Army until 1885, during which period he thoroughly reorganised it.[5] He commanded the British at the Battle of Gennis.
In 1886, Wood returned to Britain to take charge of Eastern Command at Colchester.[6] Then, from 1 January 1889 to 8 October 1893 Wood was General Officer Commanding of Aldershot Command, one of the most important posts in the army at home.[7] He was promoted to lieutenant-general and awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1891.[6] At Aldershot he was concerned with the well-being of both troops and animals, recommending the rebuilding of barracks and training of army cooks. He also carried out extensive training manoeuvres for the regulars under his command and for Militia and Volunteer forces.[8] While Wood was at Aldershot his aides-de-camp included Captain Edward Roderic 'Roddy' Owen (Lancashire Fusiliers), a famous amateur jockey (Wood was a keen rider and huntsman),[9] and Major Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe, 19th Hussars.[10] Fanshawe (who commanded V Corps during World War I), later became Wood's son-in-law, marrying his elder daughter Anna Pauline Mary on 25 July 1894.[11]
Wood saw further staff service at the War Office as Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1893 to 1897[5] and then as Adjutant-General to the Forces from 1897 to 1901.[5] Promoted to full general in 1895,[5] Wood commanded the II Army Corps and Southern Command from 1901 to 1904. On 8 April 1903, Sir Evelyn Wood was promoted field marshal.[5] That same year, he was also awarded the freedom of the Borough of Chelmsford. In 1907, he became colonel of the Royal Horse Guards.[5] He was also a governor of Gresham's School from 1899 to 1919.
In 1867 Wood married the Hon. Mary Paulina Anne Southwell, a sister of Thomas Southwell, 4th Viscount Southwell, and they had three sons and three daughters.[6] She died on 11 May 1891, while Wood was commanding at Aldershot.[12] Wood's sister Katherine, better known as Kitty O'Shea, married Captain William O'Shea (18th Hussars), an Irish MP, but her relationship with and later marriage to the Irish nationalist politician Charles Stewart Parnell helped to destroy his career and the chance of Irish Home Rule.
After retiring from active service, Sir Evelyn Wood VC took a house at Upminster (Essex), and became chairman of the Association for the City of London. On 11 March 1911 he was appointed Constable of the Tower of London. In 1913 Wood was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).[13]
Wood died in 1919, and was buried with full military honours in the Military Cemetery at Aldershot in Hampshire. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Archibald Alison |
GOC-in-C Aldershot Command 1889–1893 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Connaught |
| Preceded by Sir Robert Biddulph |
Quartermaster-General to the Forces 1893–1897 |
Succeeded by Sir Richard Harrison |
| Preceded by Sir Redvers Buller |
Adjutant General 1897–1901 |
Succeeded by Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny |
| New title New Post
|
GOC-in-C Southern Command 1905 |
Succeeded by Sir Ian Hamilton |
| Preceded by The Viscount Wolseley |
Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards 1907–1919 |
Succeeded by The Earl Haig |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Sir Frederick Stephenson |
Constable of the Tower of London 1911–1919 |
Succeeded by The Lord Methuen |