Major-General William John Vousden, (20 September 1848 – 12 November 1902) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

officer in the Indian Army, and 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

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.

Military career

Vousden was born in

Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...

the son of Captain Vousden, and was educated at

Kings School Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's o ...

. He trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the

35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot The 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1881. History ...

in 1864. Promoted to lieutenant in 1867, and to

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 ...

in 1876, he transferred to the

5th Punjab Cavalry The 12th Cavalry Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in the British Indian army in 1922 by the amalgamation of 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry (Frontier Force) and 25th Cavalry (Frontier Force) ...

where he served in the

Jowaki Expedition The Jowaki Expedition was a British punitive expedition in India, occurring between 1877 and 1878. It started when the British government in India proposed to reduce the payment of the Jowaki Afridi tribe in the Northwest Frontier. The Jowaki wer ...

1877–78.

Victoria cross

He was 34 years old, and a captain in the 5th Punjab Cavalry, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War when the following deed took place on 14 December 1879 on the Koh Asmai Heights, near Kabul, Afghanistan, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross:

Further military service

He continued to serve in the 5th Punjab Cavalry, was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1884, and took part in further fighting on the North-West Frontier region, for which he was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

on 8 June 1891 and 26 January 1898. He was promoted to the

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

rank of colonel in July 1894 and the substantive rank of Colonel of the Indian Staff Corps in January 1899. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1900. In April 1901 he took a command in the

Punjab Frontier Force The Punjab Irregular Force (PIF) was created in 1851 to protect the NW frontier of British India. It was termed "Irregular" because it was outside the control of the Regular British East India Company Presidency armies of the three Presidencies o ...

with the temporary rank of

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, and shortly thereafter he was granted the local rank of major general. He was appointed to act as

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

of Cavalry in India from October 1901, in the absence in South Africa of Colonel

Edward Locke Elliot Lieutenant General Sir Edward Locke Elliot, (28 January 1850 – 12 December 1938) was a British Army General during the Second Boer War and in British India. Biography Elliot was the son of Colonel Edward King Elliot. He was educated at Harrow ...

, and received the temporary rank of major general while officiating as such. Following the end of the war in South Africa, Elliott returned in late 1902, and Vousden stepped down. He died in India of dysentery later the same year, on 12 November 1902 at the age of 54.

Family

Vousden married, in 1891, a daughter of Major-General Drummond.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) * The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) *

Scotland's Forgotten Valour ''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' is a 1995 book by Graham Ross, published by MacLean Press under . (The typography of the title on the book uses capitalisation to contrast emphasis ("SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR"), to communicate additional meanin ...

(Graham Ross, 1995)

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vousden, William John 1845 births 1902 deaths People educated at The King's School, Canterbury Deaths from dysentery British recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army generals Companions of the Order of the Bath Infectious disease deaths in India Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Military personnel from Perth, Scotland Second Anglo-Afghan War recipients of the Victoria Cross Bengal Staff Corps officers British military personnel of the Tirah campaign Indian Staff Corps officers