Sir Edward Robert Prevost Woodgate (1 November 1845 – 23 March 1900) was an infantry 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 ...

Family and education

Woodgate was born in November 1845 at

Belbroughton Belbroughton ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,380. It is about six miles north of Bromsgrove, six miles east of Kidderminster and four ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, the son of Rev Henry Arthur Woodgate, Rector of Holy Trinity parish church there. He was educated at

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, and ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

(now

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

Career

In April 1865 Woodgate was commissioned into the 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot, which in 1881 was renamed the

King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

. He served in the Abyssinian War 1868 (and was present at the action of Arogee and the capture of Magdala), then the

Ashanti War The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victori ...

from 1873 to 1874 (where he took part in the actions of Esaman, Ainsah, Abrakampa, and Faysunah, the

battle of Amoaful The Battle of Amoaful was a battle fought on 31 January 1874 during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War when Sir Garnet Wolseley defeated the Ashantis after strong resistance.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 ...

. After Staff College in 1877, he took part in the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupl ...

1879, where he was again mentioned in despatches for his work as staff officer of the Flying column in the campaign, and received a

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 ...

promotion 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 ...

. From 1880 to 1885 he served as a brigade major in the West Indies, subsequently returning to regimental duties. In 1893 he was appointed in command of the 1st battalion of his regiment, and in 1897 he relinquished this position to take charge of the 4th Regimental District at Lancaster. Less than a year later, he was in April 1898 specially sent to Sierra Leone to organize the new West African Regiment (later reorganized into the West African Field Force), which soon was involved in fighting against Bai Bureh. By now a colonel, Woodgate returned hom in 1899 to take command of the 17th District at Leicester. He had only held the Leicester-command four months, when after the outbreak of 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 appointed in command of the 11th

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

of the 5th Division. At the

Battle of Spion Kop The Battle of Spioen Kop ( nl, Slag bij Spionkop; af, Slag van Spioenkop) was a military engagement between British forces and two Boer Republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, during the campaign by the British to r ...

he commanded a large force that was sent to capture the strategic hill in a night assault on 23 January 1900. The next morning a shell splinter struck Woodgate's head above the right eye. He suffered a brain injury associated with a shattered orbit. While being carried down the hill to hospital on a stretcher, he struggled to rejoin his men and had to be forcibly restrained. As a result of the

trauma Trauma most often refers to: * Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source * Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic i ...

he lost all recent memory and had no recollection of the war. Woodgate later fell into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

and died at Mooi River,

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

on 23 March 1900, aged 54. He is buried in the churchyard of St John's Anglican Church just outside Mooi River. Stone Cross, Belbroughton church - geograph

Stone Cross, Belbroughton church - geograph

Woodgate left a

fiancée An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

, Gladys Newbolt. At his birthplace in Belbroughton his father had the Medieval churchyard cross restored as a monument to him.

Honours and awards

Abyssinian War Medal (1868) Ashanti War Medal (1873–4) and bar and

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

, Zulu War Campaign Medal (187

and bar and mentioned in despatches, Sierra Leone 1898 and mentioned in despatches, invested as a Order of St Michael and St George, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). He was invested as a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in May 1896 and Knight Commander in Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in January 1900.

Estate

Woodgate's will was proved in the Principal Registry of the Probate Division of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice on 30 June 1900, by his two

executors An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Edward De Barry Barnett of 32 Cambridge Square,

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Green Pa ...

and George Nicholas Hardinge of 17 Lower Berkeley Street,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His home address was given as

United Services Club United Services Club (also known as ''US Club'') is a golf club located in Colaba area of Mumbai. Established in 1928 by the Indian Army, it is now run jointly by the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF ...

Pall Mall, London Pall Mall is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, Central London. It connects St James's Street to Trafalgar Square and is a section of the regional A4 road. The street's name is derived from pall-mall, a ...

References

* * *

External links

– photograph of the inscribed

ledger stone A ledger stone or ledgerstone is an inscribed stone slab usually laid into the floor of a church to commemorate or mark the place of the burial of an important deceased person. The term "ledger" derives from the Middle English words ''lygger'', ' ...

on Woodgate's grave. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodgate, Edward 1845 births 1900 deaths People educated at Radley College British Army major generals British military personnel of the Abyssinian War British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath British military personnel killed in the Second Boer War King's Own Royal Regiment officers People from Bromsgrove District Military personnel from Worcestershire Burials in South Africa