Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Sir Arthur George Hammond (28 September 1843 – 20 April 1919) was an English recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Early life and career

Arthur Hammond was born in

Dawlish Dawlish is an English seaside resort town and civil parish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon, from the county town of Exeter and from the larger resort of Torquay. Its 2011 population of 11,312 was estimated at 13,355 in 2019. It is t ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

on 23 September 1843, the fifth son of Major T.G. Hammond, Abbey Grange, Sherborne, Dorset. Arthur attended

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

as a day boy from 1852 to 1860. After leaving

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...

he attended Addiscombe Military Seminary and in 1861 entered the Indian Staff Corps. After serving in the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteer Regiment) he joined the

Bengal Staff Corps Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides. He served in the Jowaki Afridi Expedition with the Guides in 1877 (mentioned in Despatches), and the Afghan War 1878–80 at Ali Musjid, Tahkt-i-Shan and Asmai Heights and Kabul.

VC action

Hammond was 36 years old, and a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

during the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

when the following deed took place on 14 December 1879 at the action on the

Asmai Heights The Koh-e Asamai ( prs, کوه آسمایی ''Kōh-e Āsamā'ī'') is a mountain located directly to the west of downtown Kabul, Afghanistan at an elevation of . It is known colloquially as the ''Television Hill'' due to the large TV mast and ant ...

, near Kabul,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, for which he was awarded the VC:

Subsequent career and death

In addition to the Afghan War, he served in the Jowaki Campaign of 1877-1878 and also in the Hazara Campaigns of 1888 and 1891 (CB and Mention), commanded BDe in the Isazai Expedition 1892, Chitral Relief Force 1895 (Mention and thanks of Indian Government), and the

Tirah Campaign The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formally known as Federally ...

of 1897-1898 (Commanded Peshawar Column). He became A.D.C. to Queen Victoria in 1890. He was promoted to a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) in the 1903 Durbar Honours. Following his long military career, Arthur Hammond retired to

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

where he named his residence Sherborne House. He died in April 1919 and is buried in St. Michael's Churchyard, Camberley. He was the father of Arthur Verney Hammond. His obituary appeared in ''The Shirburnian'', June 1919: His VC is in private hands.

References

Career overview
''(Surrey)''
Sherborne School Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Arthur George People from Dawlish 1843 births 1919 deaths British recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel of the Tirah campaign Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Second Anglo-Afghan War recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition Corps of Guides (India) officers Bengal Staff Corps officers People educated at Sherborne School South Lancashire Regiment officers British military personnel of the Hazara Expedition of 1888 Graduates of Addiscombe Military Seminary