Major-General Sir Elliott Wood, (5 May 1844 – 7 September 1931)WOOD, Sir Elliott’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016 was a British

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer, who served in the Anglo-Egyptian War, the Sudan Campaign and the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

Military career

Wood was born in 1844, the son of Dr. Miles Astman Wood, of

Ledbury Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills. It has a significant number of timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane and High Street ...

. He was commissioned a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

on 15 January 1864, and was promoted to

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 ...

on 30 September 1877. He served in the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882, and was present at the

Battle of Tell El Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

(September 1882), for which he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, received the medal with clasps, the 4th class of the Order of Medjidie, the Khedive's star, and a

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

promotion to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 18 November 1882. Two years later, he took part in the Sudan expedition of 1884 (twice mentioned in despatches), for which he received a brevet promotion to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

on 21 May 1884. He continued in the Sudan Campaign of 1885, for which he was also mentioned in despatches, and appointed a Companion 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 ...

(CB).Hart′s Army list, 1903 Following promotion to

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 ...

on 21 May 1888, Wood was from 1889 to 1894 A.G.G. at Headquarters, and from 1894 to 1899 he was in command of the Royal Engineers at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. On 1 April 1899 he was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer at

Aldershot Garrison Aldershot Garrison, also known as Aldershot Military Town, is a major garrison in South East England, between Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. The garrison was established when the War Department bought a large area of land near the villa ...

. After the

broke out in October 1899, he was asked to accompany Sir Redvers Buller and the 1st Army Corps as they went to South Africa. On arrival he was appointed Chief Engineer in South Africa, with local rank of major-general, and continued as such until the war ended in June 1902. For his war service he was thrice mentioned in despatches, received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with five clasps and the King's South Africa Medal with two clasps, and was promoted to a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1901 South Africa Honours list (the order was dated to 29 November 1900). He returned to the United Kingdom on the SS ''Dunvegan Castle'', which arrived in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in early September 1902, and was invested with the KCB by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

at Buckingham Palace on 24 October 1902. Wood was appointed in command of the Royal Engineers, 1st Army Corps based at

, on 8 September 1902, and received the substantive rank of major-general on the same day (this was later dated back to 22 August 1902 as he was promoted for Distinguished service in the Field in the October 1902 South Africa Honours list). He retired from the army in 1906. In 1924 he published ''Life and Adventure in Peace and War''.

Family

Wood married, in 1906, Annie Beatrice Bourne, daughter of Colonel Robert Bourne and widow of Horace R. Dugmore. They lived at Holmer Park, Hereford, and he died on 7 September 1931.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Elliott 1844 births 1931 deaths British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Royal Engineers officers Military personnel from Herefordshire British Army major generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from Ledbury