Memorial to Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts in Winchester Cathedral

Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts VC (8 January 1872 – 17 December 1899) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest 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. Roberts was the son of the famous

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

commander Field Marshal Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts.

Early life

Born in Umballa, India, Roberts attended Eton College and joined the British Army soon after completing his studies. As the son of Field Marshal Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, one of the greatest commanders of the Victorian era, he followed his father into the army and, after the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

on 10 June 1891. After joining the army he was soon involved in action, fighting in the Waziristan Expedition in 1894 and 1895, where he was

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

. He came to the attention of senior officers for his effective leadership. In 1898 he took part in the

Nile Expedition The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition (1884–85), was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to the Sudan to help Egyptians evacuate from Sudan af ...

following which he was promoted lieutenant, and awarded Order of Meijidieh, Fourth Class from the Ottoman Empire.

Second Boer War

At the age of 27, Roberts went with the King's Rifles to the Second Boer War, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 15 December 1899 at the

Battle of Colenso The Battle of Colenso was the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War. It was fought between British and Boer forces from the independent South African Republic and Orange Free State in and around Colenso, Na ...

, South Africa, Roberts, with several others, tried to save the guns of the 14th and 66th Batteries, Royal Field Artillery, when the detachments serving the guns had all become casualties or been driven from their guns. Some of the horses and drivers were sheltering in a donga, a dried watercourse, about 500 yards behind the guns and the intervening space was swept with shell and rifle fire. Roberts with two other officers ( Walter Congreve and

Harry Norton Schofield Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Norton Schofield, VC (29 January 1865 – 10 October 1931) was an English British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can ...

) and Corporal George Edward Nurse helped to hook a team into a limber and then to limber up a gun. While doing so, he fell badly wounded and two days later died of his wounds at Chieveley, Natal. The action was observed by the Commander-in-Chief, Redvers Buller, who recommended Roberts for the VC in a despatch written on 16 December, before Roberts had died from his wounds. Confirmation of the award was made on 2 February 1900, the citation reading: Roberts and his father were one of only three father-son pairs to win the VC, his father having won it in 1858 for an action at

Khudaganj Khudaganj is a town and a nagar panchayat in Tehsil Tilhar Shahjahanpur district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Geography Khudaganj is located at . It has an average elevation of 144 metres (472 feet).The Main river of Khudag ...

during the

Indian rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

. F.H.S. Robert's Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, England.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Frederick 1872 births 1899 deaths Military personnel of British India British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition British military personnel killed in the Second Boer War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Heirs apparent who never acceded King's Royal Rifle Corps officers People from Ambala People educated at Eton College Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 4th class Second Boer War recipients of the Victoria Cross