Brigadier-General Horace Somerville Sewell (1881–1953) was an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, notable for his mixed-race ancestry.

Biography

Horace Sewell was born in Wales on 10 February 1881; he was the third son of Henry Sewell, who was in turn the eldest son of the prominent

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

planter William Sewell and the

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

former slave Mary McCrea. Henry Sewell returned to England, where he married and eventually settled at Steephill Castle near

Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the sea. ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, but he inherited his father's Jamaica plantation "empire" in 1872, and subsequently divided his time between England and Jamaica, eventually relocating permanently back to the island. Horace Sewell was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, before joining the

4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards The 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Arran's Regiment of Cuirassiers. It was renamed as the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards in 1788 and service for two centuries, incl ...

in 1900. His regimental nickname was "Sambo", apparently a reference to his Jamaican roots. Sewell was seconded to the West African Frontier Force for three years from 1907, with a promotion to Captain following soon after the start of the assignment. By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, his regiment was serving in the British Expeditionary Force; he was quickly promoted to major, and took command the regiment as a temporary lieutenant-colonel in March 1915. In April 1918, he was promoted to command the 1st Cavalry Brigade of the British Army, which he led until the end of the Great War. General Sewell was a highly decorated soldier, earning the DSO in 1915, the French ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

'' in 1916, a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his DSO for service at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, and the CMG in 1919, as well as being twice wounded and five times mentioned in dispatches. He also found time in 1916 to marry the daughter of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

gypsum magnate Jerome Berre King. After the war he commanded the

7th Queen's Own Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

until 1923, subsequently the Midland Cavalry Brigade of the Territorial Army until 1928. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Brigadier-General Sewell was attached to the British Information Service in New York . He matriculated his coat of arms in 1940 and settled at the medieval Tysoe Manor in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, but latterly spent much of his time on Jamaica, where he served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Brigadier-General Sewell apparently passed for white, and evidence of his mixed-race heritage surprised modern researchers, but his nickname suggests that his ancestry was known to his comrades and subordinates, and he was recognized as "black" by Americans who he came in contact with during his World War II posting.Centre for First World War Studies: No91: Horace Sewell ('Sambo')
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, Horace British Army cavalry generals of World War I People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards officers 1881 births 1953 deaths Royal West African Frontier Force officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Legion of Honour Black British soldiers English people of Jamaican descent British Army generals Welsh military personnel Jamaican justices of the peace