Hon. Maurice Raymond Gifford CMG (5 May 1859 – 1 July 1910) was a British military officer.

Biography

Born at Ampney Park, Gloucester, he was the son of Robert Francis Gifford, 2nd Baron Gifford, and the brother of

Edric Gifford, 3rd Baron Gifford Major Edric Frederick Gifford, 3rd Baron Gifford, VC (5 July 1849 – 5 June 1911) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Co ...

. On the completion of his education he entered the Merchant Service, and was on board the training ship ''Worcester'' for three years. In 1878, he entered the service of the British Steam Navigation Company, in which he remained until 1882, visiting many parts of the globe. That same year he fought in the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...

and served as assistant correspondent to the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

''at the time of the engagement of Tel-el-Kebir. He then went to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

for 11 years and fought in the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...

as one of ''French's Scouts'' under Lord Minto, earning the

North West Canada Medal The North West Canada Medal is a British campaign medal issued to the soldiers, volunteers, and North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) personnel who participated in putting down the North-West Rebellion in 1885. Eligibility The medal was established ...

and clasp. Next, Gifford went to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and became General Manager of the Bechuanaland Exploration Company and soon became involved in the

First Matabele War The First Matabele War was fought between 1893 and 1894 in modern-day Zimbabwe. It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Ndebele (Matabele) Kingdom. Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, had tried to avoid outright war with the company ...

, 1893. In the

Second Matabele War The Second Matabele War, also known as the Matabeleland Rebellion or part of what is now known in Zimbabwe as the First ''Chimurenga'', was fought between 1896 and 1897 in the region later known as Southern Rhodesia, now modern-day Zimbabwe. ...

, 1896, he was part of the Bulawayo Field Force during the Siege of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

, raised ''Gifford's Horse'', and lost his right arm to a Nbatabele bullet. MauriceGifford

In 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 ...

he was attached to the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

and was part of the ''Rhodesian Horse''. He participated in the

Relief of Mafeking The siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mafikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of ...

. He married Marguerite Thorold, the daughter of Capt Thorold of Boothby, on 21 September 1897. Among the presents Gifford gave to his wife at the wedding, was the bullet that cost him his arm. He set it in Matabele gold and arranged it so that the yellow metal formed a double-headed serpent. On 1 July 1910, while undergoing a rest cure for nervous breakdown, Col. Gifford met his death from a fire caused by his clothes being set alight by a cigarette. He had been cleaning his clothing with petrol just before the incident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifford, Maurice 1859 births 1910 deaths People from Gloucester British colonial army officers Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George South African military personnel British South Africa Police officers People of the Red River Rebellion People of the Second Matabele War British military personnel of the Second Boer War Younger sons of barons