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Frederick Sleigh Roberts
Field Marshal Lord Roberts of Kandahar, V.C.,
K.G., K.P.,
G.C.B., O.M., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
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"Bobs"
Lord Roberts of Kandahar |
Lord Roberts commanded
the British forces in Afghanistan during Baden-Powell's service in
1881-1882. He was later to become the Commander-in-Chief in India
(1885-1893), in the South African War (1899-1902) and, finally
Commander-in-Chief of the British Army (1901-1904). For much of
Baden-Powell's active military service, Lord Roberts was among the highest
ranking and most respected officers of the British Army. He became known
as "Kipling's General."
His life was jewelled
and upheld by those ideals the poet himself sought to glorify - courage,
faith and honour. But ... to Kipling's Tommy Atkins he was just
"Bobs," a well-loved commander who had been with them since
most of them were recruits, a shrewd tactician, yet careful of his men's
lives and solicitous of their welfare. Nothing endears a leader to his
men more than sparing them needless hardship, and for this reason his
men would follow Bobs through all necessary perils, partly for their
belief in him, and partly to see that no harm befell him.
Bobs served for a total of forty-one years in India, at a time when the
Indian Army was both unfashionable and unadvantageous. In those years he rose
from Horse Artillery subaltern to Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. He served with distinction in the Indian Mutiny, winning the V.C. for repeated acts of heroism, but he will chiefly be remembered as the man who curbed the unruly spirit of the treacherous Afghans, wiping out the
memory of British defeats and bringing peace to the North-West Frontier. His march from Kabul to Kandahar
will long be cited as a remarkable feat of both strategy and administration.
Beset by Sir Garnet Wolesley's jealousy of all Indian officers, though the Indian Command was by far the most enlightened and experienced, Bobs still succeeded in rising, being first C-in-C Ireland, Bobs himself was an Irishman, and finally, the last C-in-C of the whole army before the post was abolished. Sent to reprieve the disasters of the early stages of the Boer War, his energy and decision saved the situation and caused the Boers never to take the field again as an organised army.
Characteristically, Bobs died while visiting his beloved soldiers on the Western Front in 1914, and thus passed into history a man of tact and understanding, dignity and firmness of purpose, courage and honour - Kipling's "Father Bobs."
From: W. H. Hannah,
Bob's, Kipling's General. The Life of Field Marshal Earl Roberts of
Kandahar, VC, 1972.
From:
The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, 1910-1911.
ROBERTS,
FREDERICK SLEIGH ROBERTS, EARL (1832— ), British soldier, second son of General Sir Abraham
Roberts,
G.C.B., was born at
Cawnpore,
India, on
the 30th of September 1832.
Educated at Eton, Sandhurst and Addiscombe, he obtained a commission in
the Bengal Artillery on
12th December 1851. In the following year he was posted to a field
battery at
Peshawar,
where he also acted as aide-de-camp to his father, who commanded the
Peshawar division.
In 1856
Roberts was appointed to the Quartermaster-General’s department of the
staff, in which he remained for twenty-two years, passing from one grade
to another until he became Quartermaster-General in India. On the outbreak
of the Mutiny in 1857, Roberts, at first, was staff officer to the movable
column operating against the mutineers in the Punjab, successively
commanded by Colonels Neville Chamberlain and John Nicholson, but, towards
the end of June, he joined the Delhi Field Force, and was Deputy Assistant
Quartermaster-General with the artillery during the operations against
Delhi. He was wounded in the fight of the 14th of July, but was
sufficiently recovered in September to take command as a regimental
officer of the left half of No. 2 Siege Battery during the siege. He
rejoined the headquarters staff for the assault, and took part in the
storm and subsequent seven days fighting in the city. He then, accompanied
Colonel Greathed’s column to
Cawnpore,
and during September and October was present at the actions of
Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Agra, Bithur and Kanauj. He served under Sir Colin
Campbell at the second relief of Lucknow in November, at the battle of
Cawnpore on the 6th of December, and the subsequent
pursuit and defeat of the
Gwalior
contingent near Shinrajpur. Roberts distinguished himself at the
engagement of Khudaganj, on
the 2nd of January 1858, by capturing, in single-handed combat,
a standard from two sepoys, and also by cutting down a sepoy about to kill
a sowar. For these acts of gallantry he was recommended for the Victoria
Cross. He was present at the reoccupation of Fatehgarh on the 6th of
January, the storm of Mianganj in February, the siege and capture of
Lucknow in March, and the action at Kursi on the 22nd of that month, after
which he went home on sick leave. For his services in the Mutiny he was
seven times mentioned in despatches, received the medal with three clasps,
the Victoria Cross, and on his promotion to captain, in October 1860, a
brevet majority. On
the 17th of May 1859 he married, at
Waterford,
Miss Nora Bews, and on his return to
India
was entrusted with the organization of the Viceroy’s camps during the
progresses through Oudh, the North-West Provinces, the Punjab and Central
India in 1860 and 1861. In December 1863 he took part, under Major-General
Garvock, in the Umbeyla campaign among the mountains to the north of
Peshawar, and was present at the storm of Lalu, the capture of Umbeyla,
and the destruction of Mulka, receiving for his services the medal and
clasp.
In 1867
Roberts was appointed Assistant Quartermaster-General to Sir Donald
Stewart’s Bengal Brigade for
Abyssinia. He showed judgment in embarking each unit
complete in every detail, instead of despatching camp equipage in one
ship, transport in another, and so on, as was customary. He arrived at
Zula,
Annesley
Bay, in the Red Sea, the base of the expedition, on the 3rd of February
1868, and remained there as senior base staff officer during the four
months’ campaign. At its close he superintended the re-embarkation. of the
whole army. His duties were so well performed that Sir Robert Napier sent
him home with his final despatches. He was three times “mentioned,” and
received a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy and the war medal. He returned to
India
the following year as First Assistant Quartermaster-General. In the autumn
of 1871 he made the arrangements for the expedition into Lushai, between
southeast Bengal and Burma, fitted out two columns under
Brigadiers-General Bourchier and Brownlow, and himself accompanied the
first. A road, over 100 miles long, was cut through dense gloomy forests
in stifling heat, and the column was attacked by cholera; but the object
of the expedition was successfully accomplished, and Roberts, who was
present at the capture of the Kholel villages and the action in the
Northlang range, and commanded the troops at the burning of Taikum, was
mentioned in despatches and made a Companion of the Bath. On his return in
March 1872, he became Deputy Quartermaster-General in Bengal, and in 1875
Quartermaster-General and colonel. He settled the details of the great
camp of exercise at Delhi on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of
Wales in January 1876, and attended H.R.H. at the maneuvers. He also
superintended the arrangements for the great durbar at Delhi on
the 1st of January 1877, when Queen
Victoria was
proclaimed Empress of India.
In 1878
Roberts was appointed to the command of the Frontier Field Force at
Abbottabad, in Hazara; but in the autumn, on the repulse of the
Chamberlain Mission by the Afghans, and the formation of three columns to
advance into Afghanistan by the Khyber, the Bolan and the Kurram passes,
he was given the command of the Kurram Field Force, with the rank of
major-general. Concentrating his column at Thai, he advanced to Kurram
towards the end of November, and having formed an advanced base there,
moved on to Habib Lila. Under cover of preparations for a front attack on
the Peiwar Kotal, he reconnoitred that formidable position, and on the
night of the 1st of December moved part of his force to attack the
Spingawi Kotal, in order to turn the Afghan left flank, leaving the
remainder of the force to feign a frontal attack on the Peiwar, and to
guard the camp. After a very difficult night march the Spingawi Kotal was
carried at daybreak on the 2nd, and, later, the Afghans on the Peiwar
Kotal, threatened in rear, abandoned the position. The next morning
Roberts occupied the Peiwar, and on the 6th advanced to Ali Khel. He
reconnoitred the Shutargardan and the Sapari passes, and made a strong
reconnaissance
through Khost, in which some fighting took place, and at the end of
January returned to Hagir Pir, in Kurram, where his force remained in
occupation. In July. Major Cavagnari, the British envoy to the new Amir,
Yakub Khan, passed through Kurram on his way to Kabul, and, shortly
afterwards, Roberts left his Kurram command and went to Simla to take his
seat on the army commission, where he strongly advocated the abolition of
the three Presidency armies, and the substitution for them of four army
corps, a measure which was carried out sixteen years later. While he was
at Simla, news arrived on the 5th of September of the murder of Cavagnari
and his companions at Kabul. The Peshawar Valley Force had been broken up;
Sir Donald Stewart was still at Kandahar, but most of his troops had
started for India; Roberts, therefore, had the only force ready to strike
rapidly at Kabul. It was hastily reinforced, and he hurried back to Kurram
to take command, as a lieutenant-general, of the Kabul Field Force (7500
men and 22 guns). By the 19th of September a brigade was entrenched on the
Shutargardan, and as Roberts advanced, the Amir Yakub Khan came into his
camp. An Afghan force of 8000 men blocked the way in a strong position on
the heights beyond Charasia, and on the 6th of October Roberts repeated
the tactics that had done him such good service at the Peiwar in the
previous year, and sending Brigadier-General T. D. Baker with the greater
part of his force to turn the Afghan. right flank, threatened the pass in
front with the remainder. By the afternoon Baker had seized the position,
and the enemy, severely defeated, were in full retreat.
Kabul
was occupied without further opposition.
The
city was spared, but punishment was meted out to those convicted of
complicity in the murder of the British Mission. Yakub Khan abdicated on
the 12th of October, and was eventually deported to India. The troops
occupied the Sherpur cantonments; but in November a religious war was
proclaimed by the Mullahs, and early in December, in order to prevent a
threatening combination of Afghan tribes against him, Roberts moved out
two columns to attack them in detail. After considerable fighting around
Kabul, the numbers of the enemy were so great that he was forced to
concentrate his troops again at Sherpur, the defences of which had been
greatly improved and strengthened. Sherpur was invested by the enemy, and
early on the 23rd of December was attacked by over 100,000 Afghans. They
were driven off with great loss; and on making a second attempt to storm
the place, were met by Roberts, who moved out, attacked them in flank, and
defeated them, when they broke and dispersed. Roberts now recommended the
political dismemberment of Afghanistan, and negotiations were carried on
with the northern tribes for the appointment of an Amir for the Kabul
district only. On the 5th of, May Sir Donald Stewart arrived with his
Column from Kandahar and assumed the supreme command in Afghanistan,
Roberts retaining, under Stewart, the command of the two Kabul divisions,
and organizing an efficient transport corps under Colonel R. Low, which
was soon to be of inestimable value. On the 22nd of July Abdur Rahman was
proclaimed Amir of Kabul; and Roberts was preparing to withdraw his troops
to India by the Kurram route, when news arrived that a British brigade had
been totally defeated at Maiwand on the 27th of July, and that
Lieutenant-General Primrose was besieged in Kandahar. Roberts was ordered
to proceed thither at once with a specially selected column of 10,000
troops and his new transport corps. He started on his famous march on the
9th of August and arrived at
Kandahar
on the morning of the 31st, having covered 313 miles in twenty-two days.
On the following day he fought the battle of
Kandahar
and gained a complete victory. His services in the Afghan campaigns of
1878 to 1880 are recorded in eight Gazettes, and were recognized by the
thanks of both Houses of Parliament, of the Government of India, and of
the Governor-General in Council. He was created K.C.B., G.C.B. and a
baronet, received the medal with four clasps and the bronze star, and was
given the command of the Madras army.
Before
proceeding to
Madras,
Roberts went home on furlough, and when the news of the disaster at Majuba
Hill in South Africa arrived in London at the end of February 1881, he was
appointed governor of Natal and Commander-in-Chief in
South Africa.
He arrived at Cape Town to find that peace had been made with the Boers,
and that instructions were awaiting him to return home. The same year he
attended the autumn maneuvers in Hanover as the guest of the German
emperor. He declined the post of Quartermaster-General to the forces in
succession to Sir Garnet Wolseley, and returned to India, arriving at
Madras in November. The following year he visited Burma with the Viceroy,
and in 1885 attended the meeting between Abdur Rahman and Lord Dufferin at
Rawalpindi at the time of the Panjdeh incident, in connexion with which
he had been nominated to the command of an army corps in case of
hostilities. In July he succeeded Sir Donald Stewart as Commander-in-Chief
in India, and during his seven years' tenure of this high position
instituted many measures for the benefit of the army, and greatly assisted
the development of frontier communications and defence. At the end of
1885, at the request of the Viceroy, he took personal command for a time
of the forces in Burma, and organized measures for the suppression of
dacoity. For his services he received the medal, was created G.C.I.E., and
promoted supernumerary general. In 1890 he did the honours of the army to
Prince Albert Victor at a standing camp at Muridki and in 1891 his
attention was occupied with the Zhob and Hunza Nagar frontier campaigns.
On the 1st of January 1892 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Roberts
of Kandahar and Waterford. In 1893 he left India for good, and the
G.C.S.I. was bestowed upon him. He was promoted to be Field-Marshal in
1895, and in the autumn of that year succeeded Lord Wolseley in the Irish
command and was sworn a Privy Councilor. At Queen Victoria's diamond
jubilee in 1897 he was created K.P.
After
the disastrous actions in the Boer war in South Africa in December 1899 at
Magersfontein, Stormberg and Colenso, where his only son was killed, Lord
Roberts was sent out as Commander-in-Chief. He arrived at Cape Town on the
10th of January 1900, and after organizing his force, advanced with sound
strategy on Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Tree State, and soon
changed the aspect of affairs. The sieges of Kimberley and Ladysmith were
raised, and the Boer general Cronje, flying towards the capital, was
overtaken at Paardeberg and, after a fine defence, compelled to surrender,
with 5000 men. on the anniversary of Majuba Day, the 27th of February
1900. Roberts entered Bloemfontein on the 13th of March, and after six
weeks' preparation, advanced on Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal.
Mafeking was relieved on the 17th of May, and Pretoria occupied on the 5th
of June. The two Boer states were annexed, and the war gradually assuming
a guerilla character, Roberts handed over the command to Lord Kitchener
and returned to England to fill the office of Commander-in-Chief of the
Army in succession to Lord Wolseley
He
arrived in the
Solent
on
the 2nd of January 1901,
and the same
day, had an audience of Queen
Victoria,
who handed him the insignia of the Order of the Garter. The next day he
was received at Paddington by the Prince and Princess of Wales and drove
in procession to
Buckingham
Palace,
where he was entertained as the guest of the Queen. He again had an
audience of the green at Osborne on the 14th of January on his elevation
to an earldom, the last audience given by Her Majesty before her death,
which took place eight days later. When the German emperor came to London
for the Queen's funeral, he decorated Lord Roberts with the Order of the
Black Eagle. Earl Roberts received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament
and a grant of £100,000 for his services in South Africa. In 1905 he
resigned his post on the Committee of National Defence, and devoted
himself to attempting to rouse his countrymen to the necessity of
cultivating rifle shooting and of adopting systematic general military
training and service. As an author he is known by his Rise of
Wellington (1895),
and his
Forty-One Years in India (1897),
an
autobiography which has passed through numerous editions.
From the
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, 1910-1911.
From: Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, 1999.
Roberts (of Kandahar, Pretoria,
and Waterford), Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl, VISCOUNT ST. PIERRE.
Also called (from 1892) BARON ROBERTS OF KANDAHAR (born Sept. 30, 1832, Cawnpore,
India, died Nov. 14, 1914, Saint-Omer, France), British field marshal, an outstanding
combat leader in the Second Afghan War (1878-80) and the South African War (1899-1902),
and the last commander in chief of the British Army (1901-04; office then abolished).
Foreseeing World War I, he was one of the earliest advocates of compulsory military
service.
Roberts first distinguished himself
during the suppression of the Indian Mutiny (1857-58). On September 1, 1880, he scored the
decisive victory of the Second Afghan War, defeating Ayub Khan's Afghan Army near
Qandahar. From 1885 to 1893 he was commander in chief in India. As the second British
commander in chief (December 1899-November 1900) in the South African War, he ended a
succession of British defeats; captured Bloemfontein, capital of the Orange Free State
Republic (March 13, 1900), and annexed that Boer state as the Orange River Colony (May
24); took the cities of Johannesburg (May 31) and Pretoria (June 5); and defeated Boer
commandos at Bergendal (August 27). A field marshal from 1895, he gave way to Horatio
Herbert Kitchener as commander in chief in South Africa in November 1900.
Roberts was created a baron in 1892 and
an earl and viscount in 1901. Both of his sons having predeceased him, the barony became
extinct, but the earldom and viscounty devolved, in turn, on his elder and younger
surviving daughters.
From the
Britannica Online: "Roberts
(of Kandahar, Pretoria, and
Waterford);
Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl, VISCOUNT ST. PIERRE" [Accessed 16 January 1999].
An
account of the passing of Lord Roberts from: Major General C.E. Callwell,
K.C.B.,
Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson, His Life and Diaries,
London, 1927:
As the situation had become fairly satisfactory and the enemy attacks were
dying away, Lord Roberts arrived at St. Omer on the 11th with Lady Aileen,
to stay with Sir John.
Major Hereward Wake had been Lord Roberts's A.D.C. in South Africa and, as
a member of G.H.Q., was on the spot to accompany him; while Major Lewin,
his son-in-law, had also specially come to St. Omer from his battery. The
Indian troops were visited on the following day, and on that evening Lord
Roberts and his daughter dined at Wilson's cheery mess. Next day,
accompanied by Wilson and Lewin, they proceeded to Cassel to pay a visit
to General Foch, with whom the Field-Marshal exchanged graceful
compliments and who produced maps on which the course of the recent
fighting was made clear. The party then went on to Bailleul to see more of
the Indian troops, Wilson, however, remaining with Foch as Sir John was
coming out for a discussion. Lord Roberts unfortunately contracted a chill
during this day, which happened to be very wet and stormy, and when Wilson
went to Sir John's house late at night to inquire, he learnt that the
doctor took a serious view of his patient's condition as pneumonia was
developing. By next morning the case had become grave, the doctors who
were called in agreed that there could be little hope in view of the
Field-Marshal's great age, and Lewin crossed the Channel in the afternoon
to convey the painful news to Lady Roberts at Englemere. Wilson wrote in
his diary that night (November 14th):—
The
little Chief got steadily worse. I was in and out all day with Aileen, and
took her for a little walk at 4 o'clock. At 7.45 p.m. Hereward sent for
me. When I got there the Chief was dying. Aileen, Hereward, and I, with 3
doctors and 3 nurses were with him to the end. He died at 8 p.m. in
absolute peace and quiet. The story of his life is thus completed as he
would have wished himself, dying in the middle of the soldiers he loved so
well and within the sound of the guns.
He wrote next day:—
I saw
Aileen and Hereward off at 7:30 a. m. for Calais, and I feel easier in my
mind. I went round and saw the little man, lying so gracefully in his
bed…. Saw Sir John at 2 o'clock. He told me that he wished me to take the
little Chief home and to represent the "Army in the Field" at the funeral.
I am proud, glad, and sorry.
On the morning of the 17th a procession was formed and, to the skirl of
Highlander pipes wailing a lament, the coffin was borne on a gun-carriage
to the little Town Hall in the main square, where a funeral service was
held. The French Army was represented by Generals Foch and Maud'huy* and
by a picked detachment of the 22nd Dragoons. The Indian princes who were
attached to the Indian Corps were all present, and, when the motor-hearse
started on its thirty miles journey from the Town Hall to the sea, the
veteran Maharajah Sir Pertab Singh took his place on it, to act as a
personal guard over the remains of his old chief and friend. M. Christian
Mallet writes:—
After
the ceremony, which we did not see, twenty-one guns thundered out, fired
by batteries posted behind the square. An immense rainbow, as sharply
defined as if drawn with a stroke of the brush, cut the sky with a perfect
and uninterrupted semi-circle. Symbol of peace, it came to earth directly
behind the batteries, and the flash of the guns showed up against its
iridescent screen.**
At Boulogne the garrison turned out and marched past the coffin, which was
then conveyed to Dover by the Onward, and was left there for the
night, to be moved to Ascot in the morning, while Wilson went on up to
town. He visited the War Office next day, where he saw Lord Kitchener and
others, and on the 19th he was one of the Insignia Bearers in the
procession at the stately funeral of the great Field-Marshal in St.
Paul's. He expresses himself in his diary as much impressed by the
beautiful service, arranged on the same lines as that held on the occasion
of Lord Wolseley's burial, which he had attended three years before….
From: Major
General C.E. Callwell, K.C.B., Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson, His
Life and Diaries, London, 1927.
* General Maud'huy was the first Chief Scout of the Scouts de France (1921-1923).
** M. Christian Mallet,"Impressions and Experiences of a French Trooper,
1914-I5 ."
Report of the death
of Lord Roberts in “The Kildare Observer,” November, 1914:
We deeply regret to
announce the death of field Marshal Lord Roberts, which took place on
Saturday evening at the front. Only on Thursday of last week Lord Roberts
proceeded to France to see the Indian troops at present fighting at the
front, of which he was Colonel-in-Chief. He contracted a chill and
succumbed, after a short illness, to an attack of pneumonia. Lord Roberts
was quite fit and well when he left England with Lady Aileen Roberts (his
daughter) and Major Lewin, his son-in- law, on Wednesday of last week. The
party had rough weather when crossing to France, but Lord Roberts showed
no sign of distress upon landing. In fact, so well was he that he
accomplished everything in France that he went to do.
On Thursday and Friday
he visited by motor car the British bases and camps, discussing affairs
with the leading officers, and his Lordship's chief purpose, the
inspection of the Indian troops, was also fulfilled.
It was not until dinner
on Friday night that he complained of feeling a slight chill, and being
subject to more or less trilling chest troubles, he followed his usual
course and went to bed early. Usually these attacks were amenable to home
treatment, but as his temperature increased rather then dropped a medical
man was summoned, his diagnosis put a serious opinion that Lord Roberts
was in an extremely critical condition.
His Lordship complained
occupations, his highest obligation were faithfully discharged in a room
specially set apart for players for the household, while Sunday morning
invariably found him at church. If he had visitors they would be seen in
his nephew. He would always walk to church rather than give Sunday work to
his chauffeur or coachman. Every institution in Ascot having for its
object the good of the inhabitants had his warm support.
Although the present
war had put an additional strain on Lord Roberts, it did not excite him
beyond what might be expected of an old soldier. He, of all men knew it
would come sooner or later, and though it came perhaps sooner than he
expected it did not find him unprepared.
The Press Bureau on
Wednesday morning issued a lengthy account of the funeral service of Lord
Roberts at the General Headquarters in France:—
It was an impressive
scene as the remains of the ex-chief of the British army were conveyed
with Military Honours from the house where he died, through the town in
which are at present stationed General Headquarters, to the Town Hall,
where the funeral service was performed. The route was lined with
British and French troops.
To the wail of
"Flowers of the Forest" from pipers the long cortege moved up the street
in the following order:- British Cavalry, French Cavalry, Territorials,
Indian Detachments, Regimental Officers, the Maire and other French
Officials, Indian Officers, Officer of the French mission with the
British Army Officers of the General Headquarters staff, and the French
General Officer's Personal staff, and the Commander-in-Chief. The gun
carriage, escorted by eight General Officers acting as Pall Bearers:
representatives of Earl Roberts family; The Prince of Wales,
representing the King; Sir John French, representing the King of the
Belgians; Prince Arthur of Connaught; Colonel V. Huquet, representing
the French President; French Cavalry, and Royal Horse Artillery.
The service was held
in the Vestibule of the Maire, which had been converted into a temporary
chapel, furnished with an altar and beautifully decorated with flowers.
The whole of the Officers attending were accommodated within, and the
Prince of Wales and Prince Arthur stood at one end of the Bier. The
service was conducted by Rev. F.J. Anderson of "Now the Labourer's task
is over" and "O God, our help in ages past". At the conclusion of the
service the "Last Post", blown by British Buglers, rang out across the
square, and brought to those present the realisation that they had
followed their old chief for the last time.
The interment took
place at St. Paul's, London on Thursday, the King being present.
From:
“The Kildare Observer,” November, 1914.
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For a
more detailed coverage of the services and ceremonies commemorating
the death of Lord Roberts, see
The Funeral of Lord Roberts, as presented in Garen Ewing's
thoughtful research on the Second
Afghan War. |
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Lord
Roberts was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in the face
of the enemy while serving as a Lieutenant in the Bengal Horse
Artillery (Indian Army) during the Indian Mutiny. The Victoria Cross
is Britain's highest award for gallantry. In 1899, his son,
Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts, was awarded the V.C. posthumously
for his actions at the Battle of Colenso during the South African
War. |
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In his autobiography, Forty-One
Years in India, London,
1897, Lord
Roberts recounts
the Siege of Delhi (1857) during the
Indian Mutiny (Chapters XIII through XIX). |
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Over his long
military career, Lord Roberts was recognized with the highest
Honours
and Decorations of England and the British Empire as well as
military medals for his gallantry, participation and leadership while
on campaign. |
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Lord Robert's was sometimes referred
to as Kipling's General. He was the personification of what Kipling
thought of as best of the Army in India.
Kipling wrote two poems dedicated to him: "Bobs"
and "Lord
Roberts." |
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Lord Roberts was honored to serve as the first Colonel of the Irish
Guards. The honour being conferred in October of 1900. Roberts at
the time of his appointment was still serving in South Africa, so upon
his arrival at Paddington Station, London in January of 1901, a Guard of
Honour was mounted by the Irish Regiment. This was the first, but not
the last; time the Irish Guards would be on display. |
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Perspectives
on the South African War.
A collection of links to primary
and contemporary resources on the war in South Africa. |
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Your feedback, comments and suggestions are appreciated.
Please write to: Lewis P. Orans

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Lewis P. Orans, 2007
Last Modified: 4:00PM on June 26, 2007 |