Brigadier-General Sir Evelyn Wood VC

A carte-de-visite portrait of Brigadier-General Sir Henry Evelyn Wood (1838-1919), Field Marshal and VC winner.

Born at Braintree in Essex in 1838, Evelyn Wood was educated at Marlborough College. He initially joined the Royal Navy, serving as a midshipman during the siege of Sebastopol in the Crimean War. He then left the navy to join the army, becoming a cornet in the 13th Light Dragoons and then a lieutenant in the 17th Lancers. In India he saw action during the Indian Mutiny, subsequently receiving the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy.

Wood continued to rise through the ranks. 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 and also took part in the final battle at Ulundi.

Photographed by Fred Spalding of Chelmsford in Essex.