Evelyn Wood (British Army officer)

Field Marshal Sir Henry Evelyn Wood, VC, GCB, GCMG was a British Army officer. After an early career in the Royal Navy, Wood joined the British Army. He served in several major conflicts including the Indian Mutiny where, as a lieutenant, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy that is awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, for rescuing a local merchant from a band of robbers who had taken their captive into the jungle, where they intended to hang him. Wood further served as a commander in several other conflicts, notably the Third AngloAshanti War, the AngloZulu War, the First Boer War and the Mahdist War. His service in Egypt led to his appointment as Sirdar where he reorganised the Egyptian Army. He returned to Britain to serve as General Officer CommandinginChief Aldershot Command from 1889, as QuartermasterGeneral to the Forces from 1893 and as Adjutant General from 1897. His last appointment was as Comman

Wood was born at Cressing near Braintree, Essex as the fifth and youngest son of Sir John Page Wood, 2nd Baronet, a clergyman, and Emma Caroline Michell, daughter of Charles Collier Michell. Wood was an elder brother of Katherine Parnell . Sir Matthew Wood, 1st Baronet, was his grandfather and Lord Chancellor William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley was an uncle. His maternal grandfather had been an admiral in the Portuguese navy. One of his mothers brothers was a British admiral, another rose to be SurveyorGeneral of Cape Colony. Wood was educated at Marlborough College but ran away after an unjust beating.

Source: Wikipedia