The Honourable Raymond Harvey Lodge Joseph de Montmorency VC (5 February 1867 – 23 February 1900) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious 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. (Also considered a Canadian recipient due to his place of birth).

Early life career

De Montmorency was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the eldest son and heir of Major-General Reymond de Montmorency, 3rd Viscount Frankfort de Montmorency,

Representative Peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

of Ireland, who served in the Crimean War, the Indian Rebellion, Abyssinia and the Mahdist War, and his wife Rachel Mary Lumley Godolphin Michel, daughter of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Sir John Michel. He was commissioned 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 Lincolnshire Regiment on 14 September 1887, and transferred to the

21st Lancers The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where W ...

as he was promoted to lieutenant on 6 November 1889.

Details of Victoria Cross

De Montmorency was 31 years old, and a lieutenant in the

21st Lancers (Empress of India's) The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where Win ...

, British Army during the Sudan Campaign when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC: On 2 September 1898 at the Battle of Omdurman,

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, after the charge, Lieutenant de Montmorency returned to help an officer who was lying surrounded by a great many Dervishes. He drove the Dervishes off and finding that the officer was dead, put the body on his horse which then broke away. Captain Paul Aloysius Kenna and a corporal then came to his assistance and he was able to rejoin his regiment. His citation read:

Later military career

De Montmorency was promoted to the rank of

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 2 August 1899, having in the previous October been despatched on special service to South Africa, where he raised and commanded a special body of scouts, Montmorency's Scouts. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, the Scouts were involved in fighting in Cape Colony. He was killed in action at the

Battle of Stormberg The Battle of Stormberg was the first British defeat of Black Week, in which three successive British forces were defeated by Boer irregulars in the Second Boer War. Background When the British first drew up a plan of campaign against the Boer r ...

, Dordrecht, Cape Colony, on 23 February 1900. Brighton, Terry, ''The Last Charge: the 21st Lancers and the Battle of Omdurman''. Marlborough: Crowood, 1998. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Montmorency, Raymond Harvey Lodge Joseph British recipients of the Victoria Cross 21st Lancers officers British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War 1867 births 1900 deaths Military personnel from Montreal British military personnel killed in the Second Boer War People educated at Marlborough College Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers Heirs apparent who never acceded Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials in South Africa