Evelyn Wood ( British Army officer ) Field Marshal Sir Henry Evelyn Wood VC , GCB , GCMG ( 9 February 1838 – 2 December 1919 ) was a British Army officer . After an early career in the Royal Navy , Wood joined the British Army . He served in several major conflicts including the Indian Mutiny where , as a lieutenant , he was awarded the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy that is awarded to British and Commonwealth forces , for rescuing a local merchant from a band of robbers who had taken their captive into the jungle , where they intended to hang him . Wood further served as a commander in several other conflicts , notably the Third Anglo - Ashanti War , the Anglo - Zulu War , the First Boer War and the Mahdist War . His service in Egypt led to his appointment as Sirdar where he reorganised the Egyptian Army . He returned to Britain to serve as General Offier Commanding - in - Chief Aldershot Command from 1889 , as Quartermaster - General to the Forces from 1893 and as Adjutant General from 1897 . His last appointment was as General Offier Commanding - in - Chief Southern Command from 1905 . Ancestry and early life . Wood was born at Cressing near Braintree , Essex as the fifth and youngest son of Sir John Page Wood , 2nd Baronet , a clergyman , and Emma Caroline Michell . Wood was 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 . His maternal grandfather had been an admiral in the Portuguese navy . One of his mother ’ s brothers was a British admiral , another rose to be Surveyor - General of Cape Colony . Wood was educated at Marlborough College but ran away after an unjust beating . Early military career . Crimea . Like his near contemporary John French , Wood began his career in the Royal Navy , serving under his uncle Captain Frederick Mitchell on HMS " Queen " , but vertigo stopped him going aloft . Wood served as a midshipman in the Crimean War during the siege of Sebastopol , in Captain William Peel ’ s 1 , 400 strong naval brigade , whose job was to man some guns on a ridge opposite Sebastopol . He was at Inkerman and aged 16 , he was seriously wounded in an attack on the Redan , almost losing his left arm , which doctors wanted to amputate . Wood was mentioned in despatches and received his first , but unsuccessful , recommendation for a VC . Invalided home with a letter of recommendation from Lord Raglan , written five days before his own death , Wood left the Royal Navy to join the British Army , becoming a cornet ( without purchase ) in the 13th Light Dragoons on 7 September 1855 and reporting to their depot with his arm still in a sling ; He had only £250 a year in private income , rather than the £400 needed , and was soon in debt . His uncle paid for his promotion to lieutenant ( 1 February 1856 ) . Wood returned to the Crimean Theatre ( January 1856 ) but within a month was in hospital at Scutari with pneumonia and typhoid . His parents were told he was dying and his mother arrived on 20 March 1856 to find one of Florence Nightingale ’ s nurses striking him . He was so emaciated that the bones of his hips came through his skin . Against medical advice he was brought home to England where he recovered . India . Wood considered joining the French Foreign Legion , but instead became a lieutenant in the 17th Lancers to get to India . He reached Bombay on 21 December 1858 . Whilst out hunting he was attacked by a wounded tiger – it was shot in the nick of time by his companion ; – he also rode a giraffe belonging to a friendly Indian prince to win a bet with a brother officer - he stayed on long enough to win the bet , but was trampled badly , the animal ' s rear hoof breaking through both cheeks and crushing his nose . In India , Wood 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 . His citation reads : Wood also saw action at Kurai ( 25 October 1859 ) . He became deaf for a week whilst studying Hindustani at Poona , which he attributed at the time to overwork . In December 1859 he joined the 2nd Central India Horse , whose main function was the suppression of banditry . In this role he had to deal with an incipient mutiny and sort out the regimental accounts . He was invalided back to Britain in November 1860 with fever , sunstroke and ear problems . UK . On 16 April 1861 , Wood was promoted to captain . His captaincy cost him £1 , 000 official payment to the government and £1 , 500 “ over regulation ” to buy out his predecessor . He was promoted again this time to brevet major ( for services in India ) on 19 August 1862 . Wood passed the exam to enter the new Staff College , Camberley , but another officer from 17th Lancers had higher marks and as at that time only one officer was permitted from each regiment each year , Wood had to transfer to the 73rd ( Perthshire ) Regiment of Foot on 21 October 1862 . He took up his place in January 1863 , and graduated in 1864 . Whilst at Staff College he took boxing lessons . In the autumn of 1865 the 73rd were ordered to Hong Kong , but Wood disliked the new commanding officer so much that he paid £500 to transfer into the 17th ( Leicestershire ) Regiment of Foot . Having just written to propose to his future wife , he read in 1867 that “ General Napier ” was to lead an expedition to Abyssinia ; he packed his bags and went to London to volunteer , but then heard this was not to be General William Napier whom he knew from India , but General Robert Napier , whom he did not know and who was unlikely to grant him a staff position . After a stint as an aide - de - camp in Dublin , where the damp climate brought on a recurrence of fever and ear trouble , Wood was given a staff position until 1871 . He was Deputy Assistant Quartermaster - General , then brigade major of North Camp at Aldershot . In the summer of 1871 he paid £2 , 000 to purchase a full majority in the 90th Light Infantry , one of the last such transactions before the purchase of commissions system was abolished . Nursing his children through diphtheria ( he had sent his pregnant wife away ) , he was prescribed morphine for insomnia and nearly died of an overdose . Wood was promoted to brevet lieutenant - colonel on 19 June 1873 . Imperial wars . Third Ashanti War . In 1874 , Wood served in the Third Anglo - Ashanti War , commanding a flank at the Battle of Amoaful ( 21 January 1874 ) where he was wounded and the Battle of Esaman . He helped recruit a regiment from among the coastal African tribes , although he wrote of the Fantis that “ it would be difficult to imagine a more cowardly , useless lot of men ” . He did , however , discourage British officers from using physical abuse on them . He was wounded just above the heart , confining him to a stretcher for a day . Relying on chlorodyne and laudanum to keep going , he was ordered to lead the sick and wounded back to the coast . It was erroneously reported in the London press that he had been captured and probably flayed alive . He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 31 March 1874 . Wood presented two African chieftains with a walking stick , a hat and an umbrella . Twenty - two years later , later his eldest son was also in Ashanti . While there , he saw a native carrying a stick which the man would not sell , saying it belonged to his chief . On closer inspection , Wood Junior read an inscription ; ' Presented to Chief Andoo by Colonel Evelyn Wood , 1874 . ' He was promoted brevet colonel on 1 April 1874 and was appointed Superintendent of Garrison Instruction at Aldershot , a position he held until 1878 . A man of modest means for much of his life , Wood took his profession very seriously – like many who had served under Garnet Wolseley , 1st Viscount in the Ashanti War he was a member of the reforming “ Wolseley ring ” , although the two men were never on particularly good terms . With a young family to support but not hopeful of getting a staff position , Wood had studied law . He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1874 . Zulu War . In 1878 Wood fought with the 90th Light Infantry under Lieutenant - General Thesiger ( who later became Lord Chelmsford ) in Natal . They fought against the Gaika tribe in the last of the Kaffir Wars ( Battle of Tutu Bush , May 1878 ) . He was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant - colonel on 13 November 1878 . In January 1879 , Wood took part in the Anglo - Zulu War and was given command of the 3 , 000 - strong 4th ( left ) column of the army that crossed the Zulu frontier . Defeat of other British forces at Isandlwana forced him to retreat to fortified positions at Kambula . Defeated at Hlobane on 28 March 1879 , where he had his horse shot under him , he recovered and decisively beat the Zulus at Kambula ( 29 March 1879 ) . He was given the local rank of brigadier - general on 3 April and also took part in the final battle at Ulundi . At the end of the war , Wood headed the negotiations which took place on Conference Hill . The Zulus squatted round the negotiating tent in a large crescent . According to one witness , they were ' apathetic ' . The tension rose when Wood emerged from the tent and ordered his band to play ' God Save the Queen ' and the accompanying soldiers to give a cheer . The bandmaster was then told to play something lively . He , being Irish , ' treated them to ' Patrick ' s Day in the Morning ' . The effect was magical ; one after another , the Zulus rose and , swaying and dancing , swarmed around the British soldiers on their horses . Of particular interest was the bass drummer who was greatly admired by the Zulus . The negotiations were successful . He was also advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 23 June 1879 . Wood was paid £100 for a series of London newspaper articles , his first published work . Wood was by now so deaf from various fevers that an officer had to accompany him at night as he might not hear a sentry ’ s challenge . He was disappointed not to be made a major - general . Wood and his wife had to take a six month trip to escort the former Empress Eugenie to see the spot where her son , the Prince Imperial , had been killed - to his annoyance he received no pay whatsoever for this mission , despite its being official business at the Queen ' s request . Wood recommended Redvers Buller for his VC after the Zulu War . Wood was briefly placed on the staff in Ireland and in that role was again given the local rank of brigadier - general in December 1879 . First Boer War . Wood then commanded the Chatham Garrison and in that role was given the local rank of brigadier - general again in January 1880 . With the First Boer War going on , he was sent back to South Africa in January 1881 with the local rank of brigadier - general , as second - in - command to Sir George Colley , Governor and Commander - in - Chief in Natal , succeeding him after his defeat and death at Majuba Hill ( 27 February 1881 ) , and earning promotion to the local rank of major - general . Wood had intended to renew the fight and relieve the towns under siege , but was ordered by the Cabinet to make peace . Wood wrote to his wife that the treaty would make him ” the best abused man in England for a time ” . Wolseley ( who thought the treaty “ infamous ” and “ ignominious ” ) and other officers thought he should have resigned his commission rather than sign it . He had to travel to Pretoria , and was injured on the way when the horses of his carriage bolted . He was offered , but declined , the Governorship of Natal . In April 1881 he was appointed to a commission of inquiry into all matters relating to the future settlement of the Transvaal Territory . Although the peace negotiations were an embarrassing reverse for Britain , they brought Wood political and royal favour . The Queen thought highly of him ( and Buller ) . Wood had already impressed Lord Beaconsfield ( then Prime Minister ) , who had met him at the Queen ’ s suggestion after the Zulu War , and now impressed William Gladstone , the current Prime Minister . He was promoted to major - general ( 30 November 1881 ) and remained in Natal until February 1882 , was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George on 17 February 1882 and then returned to the Chatham command . Egypt and Sudan . Wood was given command of a brigade in the Egyptian expedition to suppress the Urabi Revolt . However , his brigade remained behind in Alexandria , so he missed the Battle of Tel el - Kebir . After a brief visit to England in November 1882 he returned to be Sirdar ( commander ) of the Egyptian Army from December 1882 until 1885 , during which period he thoroughly reorganised it , with Francis Grenfell and Kitchener working under him . He had 25 British officers ( who were given extra pay and Egyptian ranks a grade or two higher than their British ones ) and a few NCOs , although to Wood ’ s annoyance Lt - Gen Stephenson , commander of the British occupation forces , was confirmed as his senior in June 1884 . During the cholera epidemic of 1883 , British officers earned the respect of Egyptian soldiers by nursing them . Wood gave Sundays off from drill as well as Fridays ( the Muslim holy day ) , so that Egyptian soldiers would see that their British officers took their own religion seriously . In the Gordon Relief Expedition ( see Mahdist War ) Wood was in charge of the line of communication . He commanded the British at the Battle of Ginnis in December 1885 . He was the only officer to be given an important command despite advising against Wolseley ’ s choice of the Nile route . Wood briefly took Redvers Buller ’ s place as Chief of Staff as Buller had to take charge of the desert column after Stewart was mortally wounded at Abu Klea . In this job Wood became unpopular for employing female nurses ( against the advice of army doctors at that time ) and quarrelled with his friend Buller when Wood recommended a more cautious advance which would give time to build up supply depots . By this stage Wood was so deaf that Wolseley complained he had become hoarse from shouting at him . Wolseley wrote of Wood that “ he has done worse than I expected ” and in his journal described him as “ the vainest but by no means the ablest of men . He is as cunning as a first class female diplomatist … ( but has not ) real sound judgement … … intrigues with newspaper correspondents … he has not the brains nor the disposition nor the coolness nor the firmness of purpose to enable him to take command in any war … a very second rate general … whose two most remarkable traits ( a ) re extreme vanity & unbounded self - seeking " although a letter to his wife ( complaining that Wood was “ a very puzzle - headed fellow ” , wanting in method and vain ) suggests that Wolseley still bore Wood a grudge about the peace after Majuba Hill . Ill once again , Wood handed over the job of Sirdar to Francis Grenfell . To his annoyance , he received no honours from the Nile expedition . Home commands . Aldershot . In 1886 , Wood returned to Britain to take charge of Eastern Command at Colchester . Then , from 1 January 1889 to 8 October 1893 he was General Officer Commanding of Aldershot Command , one of the most important posts in the army at home . He was promoted to lieutenant - general ( 1 April 1890 ) and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 30 May 1891 . At Aldershot Wood was concerned with the well - being of both troops and animals , recommending the rebuilding of barracks and training of army cooks . At Aldershot he arranged for sick men ’ s food to be prepared in hospitals rather than brought in tins from their own units . He experimented with training soldiers on bicycles , night marches ( in the teeth of opposition , particularly from the Duke of Cambridge , who thought it might interfere with horses ’ rest ) and negotiated with the railway companies for cheap rail tickets for soldiers going on leave . He also carried out extensive training manoeuvres for the regulars under his command and for Militia and Volunteer forces . He made contributions to a Baptist chapel for a time , and ensured that Baptist services were as well publicised as those of other denominations . With the help of some high - ranking Roman Catholic friends , he agreed on an ecumenical service for Irish regiments which was acceptable both to Roman Catholic soldiers and their Anglican officers and chaplains . 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 ) , and Major Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe , 19th Hussars . 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 . Administering the Army . Wood saw further staff service at the War Office as Quartermaster - General to the Forces from 1893 to 1897 . He was promoted to full general on 26 March 1895 and was Adjutant - General to the Forces from 1897 to 1901 . His duties in the 1890s were similar to those of a Chief of the General Staff , had such a job then existed . Wood wrote several books at this time by writing each day for an hour before daybreak – in 1895 he published a book on the Crimean War , in 1896 a book on Cavalry at Waterloo , and in 1897 “ Achievements of Cavalry ” . He was a patron of Captain Douglas Haig , who had attracted his attention by reporting on French cavalry manoeuvres in the early 1890s , although they did not actually meet face - to - face until an 1895 staff ride where Haig was serving as an aide to Colonel John French . Haig wrote that Wood was “ a capital fellow to have upon one ’ s side as he always gets his own way ” . He arranged Haig ' s posting to the 1898 Sudan War – with orders to write privately to Wood reporting on Kitchener , the expedition commander . Wood , who had experience of commanding both infantry and cavalry , supported the concept of mounted infantry and proposed that each infantry battalion have one mounted company . The concept of mounted infantry fell back into disfavour in the Edwardian period as French and Haig rose to the top of the Army . Wolseley told him that his role in the 1881 Peace made it impossible for him to be given a field command in the Second Boer War , despite his offer to serve under Buller , his junior . He was nonetheless disappointed when Roberts was appointed commander - in - chief rather than himself . His three sons served in the war . During this campaign , he became ill from War Office work . He also served as Deputy Lieutenant of Essex from 10 August 1897 . Southern Command . Wood was appointed to command the II Army Corps and Southern Command 1 October 1901 , holding the positions until 1904 . On 8 April 1903 , he was promoted field marshal . That same year , he was awarded the freedom of the Borough of Chelmsford . Personal life . Family . Wood ’ s mother was left short of money after 1866 when her husband died and , already 66 years old , she went on to write fourteen novels and translated Victor Hugo ’ s " L ’ Homme qui Rit " into English . Wood ' s sister Anna was also a novelist under her married name Steele - one of her novels featured a henpecked VC who may have been based on her brother . She left her husband on her wedding night - apparently still a virgin - when she discovered that he expected to have sex with her . Evelyn was once sued for assault after striking Colonel Steele in one of his many attempts to “ reclaim ” his wife . During the Indian Mutiny another sister , Maria Chambers , conveyed her children to safety through mutineer - controlled country carrying a phial of poison for each child . Marriage and children . In 1867 Wood married the Hon . Mary Paulina Anne Southwell , a sister of Thomas Southwell , 4th Viscount Southwell , a friend from India . Southwell opposed the marriage as the Southwell family were Roman Catholic and Wood , although not a man of particularly strong religious views , refused to leave the Church of England . Having barely seen Paulina for four years , he proposed by letter in 1867 on the understanding that she would never “ by a word or even by a look ” try to prevent him from volunteering for war service . They had three sons and three daughters but she died on 11 May 1891 , while Wood was commanding at Aldershot . After his wife ’ s death Wood was deeply touched to receive 46 letters of condolence from NCOs and private soldiers who had served under him . Hunting . Wood hunted an average 46 days out of his 60 days leave each year , almost up until his death . He was convinced that hunting was of great value in training officers by encouraging horsemanship , developing an eye for terrain and rapid decision - making under danger . He was often injured , on one occasion whilst at Staff College falling on the crown of his head so badly that his neck swelled as if he were suffering from a large double goitre . During the Second Boer War he was injured in the chest when he fell against a crucifix , worn under his shirt , which had belonged to his late wife . Parnell divorce scandal . The Wood family were financially dependent on their wealthy , eccentric spinster Aunt Ben . She gave each sibling £5 , 000 but gave Wood no money as he had married a Catholic . She later paid him an allowance for a time . His brother - in - law later paid him enough of a salary to keep horses , grooms , hounds and servants , supposedly for supervising estates in Ireland , although it is unclear that he ever devoted much time to this task . Wood had to appeal to Aunt Ben for cash after the First Boer War . Wood and his siblings , Charles and Anna , demanded equal shares of Aunt Ben ' s inheritance , but in March 1888 she made a new will , leaving everything ( £150 , 000 plus lands ) in a trust for the sole benefit of her favourite niece , Wood ' s sister Katherine , better known as Kitty O ' Shea . The other siblings tried to have Aunt Ben declared insane , a petition dismissed after she was examined by the eminent physician Sir Andrew Clark . When Aunt Ben died in May 1889 , the siblings alleged undue influence by Kitty . Her husband , Captain William O ' Shea ( 18th Hussars ) , an Irish MP , at this point also contested the will , claiming it contravened his marriage contract and also sued for divorce . Kitty was the lover of the Irish nationalist politician Charles Stewart Parnell , the ensuing public scandal helped to destroy his career and the chance of Irish Home Rule . It is unclear whether the siblings encouraged O ’ Shea in his divorce to blacken Kitty ’ s name . It was suggested that Wood ’ s sister Anna Steele was herself a former lover of William O ’ Shea – when the will was overturned Anna used her share to live as a recluse , keeping a pet monkey to which she fed anchovy sandwiches . Sir Evelyn probably received about £20 , 000 in the eventual settlement . Retirement . After retiring from active service in December 1904 , Wood lived at Upminster in Essex and became chairman of the Territorial Force Association for the City of London . On 11 March 1911 he was appointed Constable of the Tower of London . Wood became colonel of the Royal Horse Guards in November 1907 . He was a governor of Gresham ' s School from 1899 to 1919 . As a qualified barrister , he had become Honorary Colonel of the 14th Middesex ( Inns of Court ) Rifle Volunteer Corps in November 1899 and supported its incorporation as an officer training unit in the new Territorial Force in 1908 . He also became colonel of the 5th Battalion , the Essex Regiment . Wood ' s autobiography appeared in 1906 . In retirement he wrote " Our Fighting Services " ( 1916 ) and " Winnowed Memories " ( 1917 ) which one historian described as “ stuffed with adulatory letters he had received , extracts of speeches he had given and anecdotes in which his wisdom or cleverness figured ” . 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 . Foreign decorations . Wood ' s foreign decorations included :