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The Story of Lord Roberts by Edmund Francis
Sellar
1906
Colour plates
Contents
Early Days
Arrival in India At Peshawur
Meeting with Nicholson
The Mutiny
The Mutiny (continued)
The Ridge at Delhi
Cawnpore and Lucknow
The End of the Mutiny
Marriage
Lushai Expedition
Abyssinia
Afghanistan
Return to India
South African War
Conclusion
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Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM,
GCSI, GCIE, PC (30 September 1832 – 14 November 1914) was a distinguished
British soldier and one of the most successful commanders of the Victorian era.
He was affectionately known as 'Bobs' by the troops he commanded.
Born at Cawnpore, India on 30 September 1832, Roberts was the second son of
General Sir Abraham Roberts a member of the famous Waterford city family that
contributed so much to the city. At the time, Sir Abraham was commanding the 1st
Bengal European Regiment. Roberts was named Sleigh in honour of the garrison
commander, Major General William Sleigh. His mother was Isabella, daughter of
Abraham Bunbury of Kilfeacle, County Tipperary. He was educated at Eton,
Sandhurst and Addiscombe before entering the British Indian Army as a Second
Lieutenant with the Bengal Artillery.
He fought in the Indian rebellion, seeing action during the siege and capture of
Delhi, and was present at the relief of Lucknow. In January 1858, at Khudaganj,
he won the Victoria Cross.
On 2 January 1858 at Khodagunge, India, on following up the retreating enemy, he
saw in the distance two sepoys going away with a standard. He immediately gave
chase, overtaking them just as they were about to enter a village. Although one
of them fired at him the lieutenant was not hit and he took possession of the
standard, cutting down the man who was carrying it. He had also on the same day
saved the life of a sowar who was being attacked by a sepoy.
After serving with the British Army in the Umbeyla and Abyssinian campaigns of
1863 and 1867–1868 respectively, Roberts fought in the Lushai campaign
(1871–1872), for which he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).
Six years later, he was promoted to Major-General and given command of the Kuram
field force in the Second Afghan War, distinguishing himself enough to receive
the thanks of Parliament and the Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
(KCB). In the wake of this success he was appointed commander of the Kabul and
Kandahar field force, leading his 10,000 troops through Afghanistan to the
relief of the latter city ( see Battle of Kandahar). He also managed to capture
Kabul, and defeated Muhammad Yakub Khan, the Afghan emir. For his services, Sir
Frederick again received the thanks of Parliament, and was appointed both Knight
Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) and Companion of the Order of the
Indian Empire (CIE) in 1880, becoming a baronet the following year.
After a very short interval as Governor of Natal and Commander-in-Chief of
British forces in South Africa, Roberts (having been promoted to
Lieutenant-General in 1883) was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Madras, a post
he held for four years. In 1885 he succeeded this appointment as
Commander-in-Chief throughout the whole of India, and two years later was
appointed Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE). This
was subsequently followed by his promotion to General in 1890, and in 1892 he
was created Baron Roberts, of Kandahar in Afghanistan and of the City of
Waterford.
After relinquishing his Indian command and becoming Knight Grand Commander of
the Star of India in 1893, Lord Roberts two years later returned to his homeland
as Commander-in-Chief of British forces in Ireland, becoming Field Marshal in
1895 and receiving the Order of St Patrick in 1897.
Two years later, he returned to South Africa in command of British troops
fighting in the Second Boer War, relieving Kimberley and advancing to Pretoria.
After a year, he was succeeded in the command by Lord Kitchener, and returned to
England to receive yet more honours: he was made a Knight of the Garter and also
created Earl Roberts, of Kandahar in Afghanistan and Pretoria in the Transvaal
Colony and of the City of Waterford, and Viscount St Pierre. He also became the
honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards in 1900, an appointment he kept for the
remainder of his life, which gained the regiment the nickname 'Bob's Own'. He
was also the following year, in 1902, appointed one of the first members of the
Order of Merit.
Lord Roberts served as the last Commander-in-Chief of the British Army for three
years before the post was abolished in 1904, and for the last ten years of his
life was showered with yet more honours, including numerous honorary degrees and
the Colonelcy of the National Reserve. He was a keen advocate of introducing
conscription to Britain in order to prepare for a Great European War. He died of
pneumonia at St Omer, France, while visiting Indian troops fighting in the First
World War. After lying in state in Westminster Hall (one of two non-Royals to do
so in the 20th century, the second being Winston Churchill in 1965), he was
buried in St Paul's Cathedral, London.
Roberts' estate was probated in 1914 at 77,304 pounds sterling (equivalent to
£4.8 million in 2004).
Both his sons having predeceased him, including Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts
VC who was killed in action at the battle of Colenso during the Boer War,
Roberts's barony became extinct, but under the special remainder granted with
them he was succeeded in the Earldom and Viscountcy by his elder surviving
daughter.
Roberts Barracks at Larkhill Garrison is named after him.
-o-
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