Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hotham Montagu "Richard" Doughty-Wylie, (23 July 1868 – 26 April 1915) was a

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 ...

officer and an English recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Doughty-Wylie had been awarded the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in f ...

from the very Ottoman Government he later fought against. He was generally known as Richard.

Early life

Charles Hotham Montagu Doughty was the eldest son of Henry Montagu Doughty of

Theberton Theberton is a village in Suffolk, England. It is located north-east of Saxmundham, and miles north of Leiston, its post town. History During the First World War, a German Zeppelin airship, L48, was shot down near Theberton at 02:00 on the ...

Hall, Suffolk, and Edith Rebecca Doughty, . A younger brother was Henry Montagu Doughty. His father's brother was

Charles Montagu Doughty Charles Montagu Doughty (19 August 1843 – 20 January 1926) was an English poet, writer, explorer, adventurer and traveller, best known for his two-volume 1888 travel book '' Travels in Arabia Deserta''. Early life and education Son of Rev. Ch ...

, author of '' Travels in Arabia Deserta''. Doughty was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

. He graduated from the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

in 1889. His military career included the

Chitral Expedition The Chitral Expedition (Urdu:چترال فوجی مہم) was a military expedition in 1895 sent by the British authorities to relieve the fort at Chitral, which was under siege after a local coup following the death of the old ruler. An interv ...

of 1895 and the 1898 Occupation of Crete, between and after which he was posted in Sudan serving with Lord Kitchener in the Mahdist War (1898–99). In 1899 he took part in the final defeat of the

Khalifa Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalif ...

as brigade major to the Infantry Brigade with the

flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appli ...

, and was mentioned in despatches. He next served 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 South ...

, then suppressing the Boxer Rebellion (1900) and in Somaliland (1903–04), where he commanded a unit of the

Somaliland Camel Corps The Somaliland Camel Corps (SCC) was a Rayid unit of the British Army based in British Somaliland. It lasted from the early 20th century until 1944. Beginnings and the Dervish rebellion In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the then r ...

. He married in 1904 a nurse Lilian Oimara Adams, daughter of John Wylie and widow of Lieutenant Henry Adams. He adopted the surname Doughty-Wylie to incorporate his wife's maiden name.

Turkish Revolution

Colonel Doughty-Wylie was the Acting British

Vice-Consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

at Konieh and Mersina,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, during the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Consti ...

of 1909.

Richard Bell-Davies Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies (19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966), also known as Richard Bell-Davies, was a senior Royal Navy commander, naval aviator, and a First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry ...

(later a VC recipient, then a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on the battleship ) met him at the time and gives an account in his autobiography ''Sailor in the Air'' (1967). Massacres of Armenians in Mersina started along with the revolution, and Bell-Davies says that it was largely due to the efforts of Doughty-Wylie that these were halted. Doughty-Wylie then went to

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

, forty miles away, where he persuaded the local Vali (Governor) to give him a small escort of Ottoman troops and a bugler; with these he managed to restore order. Mrs. Doughty-Wylie turned part of the

dragoman A dragoman or Interpretation was an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish-, Arabic-, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. A ...

's house into a hospital for wounded Armenians. Bell-Davies says that by the time an armed party from ''Swiftsure'' arrived, Doughty-Wylie had again almost stopped the massacre single-handedly. Newspaper reports of the period record that Doughty-Wylie was shot in the arm while trying to prevent the Adana massacres. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the

1909 Birthday Honours The 1909 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 28 June, to celebrate the birthday of Edward VII. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (K ...

in recognition of his services during the disturbances in Asia Minor. In 1913, Doughty-Wylie was the recipient of the

(Second Class) from the Ottoman Government. He was awarded the Medjidie "in recognition of valuable services rendered by him while in charge of the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

Hospitals in Turkey" during the Balkan Wars.

First World War

Doughty-Wylie was 46 years old, and a lieutenant colonel in

The Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designat ...

when, "owing to his great knowledge of things Turkish" according to Bell-Davies, he was attached to General

Sir Ian Hamilton Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, (16 January 1853 – 12 October 1947) was a British Army general who had an extensive British Imperial military career in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Hamilton was twice recommended for the Victoria Cro ...

's headquarters staff of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the Gallipoli Campaign. On 26 April 1915, following the

landing at Cape Helles The landing at Cape Helles ( tr, Seddülbahir Çıkarması) was part of the Gallipoli Campaign the amphibious landings on the Gallipoli peninsula by British and French forces on 25 April 1915 during the First World War. Helles, at the foot o ...

on the Gallipoli peninsula of the SS ''River Clyde'', Lieutenant Colonel Doughty-Wylie and Captain

Garth Neville Walford Captain Garth Neville Walford (27 May 1882 – 26 April 1915) was a British Army officer 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 Com ...

organised and made an attack through and on both sides of the village of

Sedd-el-Bahr Sedd el Bahr ( tr, Seddülbahir, ota, سد البحر, meaning "Walls of the Sea") is a village in the district of Eceabat, Çanakkale Province, Turkey. It is located at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The village lies east of ...

on the Old Fort at the top of the hill. The enemy's position was very strongly entrenched and defended, but mainly due to the initiative, skill and great gallantry of the two officers the attack was a complete success. However, both Doughty-Wylie and Walford were killed in the moment of victory, Doughty-Wylie being shot in the face by a sniper and died instantly. Doughty-Wylie is buried close to where he was killed, immediately north of Sedd-el-Bahr, opposite the point at which the SS ''River Clyde'' came ashore. His grave is the only solitary British or Commonwealth war grave on the Gallipoli peninsula: The Turkish authorities moved the graves of all other foreign soldiers to the "V Beach" graves except for his. His Victoria Cross, posthumously awarded for bravery during a beach landing at Gallipoli in April 1915, is displayed at the

Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, a historic regiment of the British Army. The museum is located within Caernarfon Castle in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, North Wales. Admission is include ...

in Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, Wales. Damaged plating from the ''River Clyde'' can be seen in the

Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

in Winchester, England.

Personal life

Doughty-Wylie, a married man, had an unconsummated affair with

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highl ...

with whom he exchanged love letters from 1913 until his death. Bell was an eminent English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist who explored in the

region of Syria Syria ( Hieroglyphic Luwian: 𔒂𔒠 ''Sura/i''; gr, Συρία) or Sham ( ar, ٱلشَّام, ash-Shām) is the name of a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. Other ...

, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Arabia. Doughty-Wylie was a member of the Naval and Military Club from 1900 until his death. His wife, Lilian, reportedly was the only woman on the Allied side to visit Gallipoli during the campaign, when she went to lay a wreath on his grave on 17 November 1915. She was awarded the

Royal Red Cross The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. Foundation The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Queen Victoria, with a single class of Mem ...

(First Class) in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

for her work as matron at

Limenaria Limenaria ( el, Λιμενάρια, ''meaning'': covelets) is a village on the island of Thasos in northern Greece. The village numbers 2480 residents (2011 census) and is the second largest settlement on the island of Thasos Thasos or Thassos ...

Hospital,

Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate r ...

, Greece. She died in Cyprus in 1961 at the age of 83.

Legacy

Doughty-Wylie is commemorated outside St Peter's Church in

, Suffolk where his name is recorded on the war memorial. Inside the church he is depicted as St George in a stained glass window by T. F. Curtis of

Ward and Hughes Ward and Hughes (formerly Ward and Nixon) was the name of an English company producing stained-glass windows. History Ward and Hughes was proceeded by the company Ward and Nixon, whose studio was at 67 Frith Street, Soho. They created large wind ...

. A road in the village is named Doughty-Wylie Crescent. He is named on the

Winchester College War Cloister The Winchester College War Cloister is a war memorial at Winchester College, in Hampshire, designed by the architect Sir Herbert Baker. The roofed quadrangle is said by Historic England to be the largest known private war memorial in Europe. ...

, the war memorial at Winchester College.

Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is an English actor, presenter and producer. He is best known for portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', which earned him a Golden Globe nomination ...

played him in ''Queen of the Desert'' (2015), a biographical drama film based on the life of Gertrude Bell. He was voiced by

Pip Torrens Philip D'Oyly "Pip" Torrens (born 2 June 1960) is an English actor. Known for playing urbane, authoritative figures, Torrens portrayed courtier Tommy Lascelles in the Netflix drama ''The Crown'', aristocrat Lord Massen in the HBO series ''Th ...

in '' Letters from Baghdad'', a 2016 documentary on Bell.

References

Bibliography

* ''

VCs of the First World War ''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War. The series consists of 13 books written by four different authors, first published under the label Sutton Publishing Limited, part ...

– Gallipoli'' (Stephen Snelling, 1995)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doughty-Wylie, Charles Hotham Montagu 1868 births 1915 deaths Military personnel from Suffolk Royal Welch Fusiliers officers British Gallipoli campaign recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British military personnel killed in World War I Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British military personnel of the Third Somaliland Expedition Royal Navy personnel of the Boxer Rebellion People from Suffolk Coastal (district) Somaliland Camel Corps officers British diplomats British military personnel of the 1898 Occupation of Crete British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross People educated at Winchester College Deaths by firearm in Turkey