Major-General Sir Henry Jenner Scobell, KCVO, CB (2 January 1859 – 1 February 1912) was a British military leader who served as the last officer in command of

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

before the formation of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

.Colby, Frank Moore (ed.) (1913). ''New International Yearbook: A Compendium of the World's Progress.'' Dodd, Mead and Company

Life and career

Education and early service with the Scots Greys

Scobell was born in Hanover Square, he was the son of Col. Henry Sales Scobell & his wife Catherine Sarah Jenner Bedford. His maternal great grandfather was

Edward Jenner Edward Jenner, (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was a British physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines, and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...

. After attending

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, rather than attend Sandhurst, Scobell obtained a commission as a second lieutenant in the Worcester Militia in 1878. In 1879, he obtained a transfer from the militia, joining the 2nd Dragoons (Royal

Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The regiment's history began in 167 ...

). Over the next ten years, saw little active service, but Scobell achieved promotion to captain by 1886.''Hart's Annual Army list, Militia list, and Imperial Yeomanry List for 1898''
(London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1898) p. 68. In 1889, he was seconded from the Scots Greys to serve as the adjutant of the

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when t ...

. In 1896, Scobell would be promoted to major in the Scots Greys.

With the Scots Greys in South Africa

In 1899, Scobell deployed with his regiment to South Africa to fight in the

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 Sou ...

. At the start of the war, Major Scobell commanded C Squadron. Initially, the regiment patrolled the area between the Orange and Modder rivers. Anglo Boer War: 2nd (Royal Scots Greys) Dragoons
retrieved on 25 October 2009. With the start of Lord Roberts' offensive against the Boer Republics, Scobell saw his first action at the

Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain") was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley. Lord Methuen a ...

before participating in the relief of Kimberly. Following the battle of Paarderberg, Scobell's squadron captured a strategic hill east of Bloemfontein. With 65 men, Scobell rode 35 miles, forcing his way past the Boer commandos defending the rail line in order seize the heights. Through the night, Scobbel's men held the hill despite being outnumbered by Boer commandos. Scobell's squadron was left at Utival (also known as Zilikats Nek). There they were eventually joined by five companies from the 2nd battalion, the

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

, with a section of guns from O Battery, RHA. While Scobell had kept a strong picket line out to watch for Boer commandos, this was changed when he was superseded as the commander of the garrison. With the Scots Greys came under the command of an infantry colonel, the picket outposts were decreased. This allowed when the outpost was attacked by a force of Boer commandos on 10 July 1900. Most of the squadron was captured during the disaster which ensued. The defeat allowed the Boers to hold Zilikats Nek. Scobell was able to escape with part of his command, having to shoot their way through the Boer commandos After nearly dying in the battle at Zilikat's Nek in the Magaliesberg, he captured Barberton. A review of the action at Zilikats's Nek exonerated Scobell and he was given the local rank of lieutenant-colonel on 1 December 1900 and placed in command of the 1st Regiment, Brabant Horse. On 27 July 1901, Scobell was ordered to assume command of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers.Ciaran Byrne, ''The Harp and Crown, the History of the 5th (Royal Irish) Lancers, 1902 – 1922'', (Lulu Books, 2008) p. 21. As part of the British effort to defeat the Boer insurgency, General French appointed Scobell to command a column of cavalry. Scobell's command including detachments from the

9th Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but w ...

and the

Cape Mounted Rifles The Cape Mounted Riflemen were South African military units. There were two separate successive regiments of that name. To distinguish them, some military historians describe the first as the "imperial" Cape Mounted Riflemen (originally the ' ...

.H.W. Kinsey,
The Capture of Lotter's Commando
, in ''Military History Journal'', Vol 1 No 5. Retrieved 28 October 2009. One of the most effective commandos operating in the Cape Province was the band commanded by Commandant Lötter. In the midst of a six-day mission, Scobell received information that Lötter's commando was laagered near the town of Petersburg in a gorge called Groenkloof. Quickly acting on the new intelligence, Scobell's column surprised Lötter's commando at the

Battle of Groenkloof In the Battle of Groenkloof on 5 September 1901, a British column under Colonel Harry Scobell defeated and captured a small Boer commando led by Commandant Lötter in the Cape Colony during the Second Boer War. Background While General Lord Ki ...

on 5 September 1901. In exchange for 10 dead troopers, Scobell's column killed 13, wounded 46 and captured the rest of Lötter's command, effectively destroying one of the most successful Boer units operating in the Cape. In recognition of his success, Scobell was granted the brevet rank of

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 o ...

. For his service in the war, Scobell 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 six clasps), the

King's South Africa Medal The King's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to all British and Colonial military personnel who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and who were in the theatre on or after 1 January 1902 and who had completed 18 m ...

(with two clasps), and was mentioned in despatches several times (including by Lord Roberts on 31 March 1900, and by Lord Kitchener on 23 June 1902).

Post-war service

With the end of the war approaching, Scobell returned to London on board the steamer ''Plassy'' in February 1902, and was received in audience 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 and ...

at Buckingham Palace the following May. His brevet rank was confirmed and he was transferred back to his old regiment, the Scots Greys, as its commander on 2 August 1902. He became a Major-General in 1903 and inspector of cavalry in 1907. From 1909 he commanded the British garrison in South Africa. His final posting was as General Officer Commanding Cape District, the position he held until 1911. From 1908 to his death he was colonel of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers. He died in

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch s ...

in 1912.Uys, Ian S. (1992). ''South African Military Whoʼs Who, 1452–1992.'' Fortress Publishers,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scobell, Harry 1859 births 1912 deaths Military personnel from London British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Eton College British Army major generals Royal Scots Greys officers 5th Royal Irish Lancers officers People from Westminster Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry officers