Evelyn Wood (British Army officer)
Field Marshal Sir Henry Evelyn Wood, (9 February 1838 – 2 December 1919) was a
British Army officer. After an early career in the
Royal Navy, Wood joined the British Army in 1855. He served in several major conflicts including the
Indian Mutiny where, as a lieutenant, he was awarded the
Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that is awarded to British and
Imperial 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 Officer 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 commander of
2nd Army Corps (later renamed
Southern Command) from 1901 to 1904.
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