Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Book: | Beyond The Five Points | Pgs. 38-40 | |
Awards & Titles: | Victoria Cross Knight Grand Cross of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Legionne d'Honneur France Order of Medjidieh Turkey | ||
Early Life :
Evelyn was born at the Vicarage in the village of Cressing, near Braintree, Essex, in 1838. He was the youngest son of Sir John Page Wood, 2nd Baronet, Clerk in Holy Orders and Rector of Saint Peter's, Cornhill, in the City of London, and formerly Chaplain and Private Secretary to Queen Caroline. His mother was Emma Carolina Michell, daughter of Admiral Sampson Michell, of Croft West, Cornwall. He apparently preferred to be called by his second Christian name, Evelyn.Educated at Marlborough at the Grammar School, and then Marlborough College, on 15th April, 1852 he passed the examination, and entered the Royal Navy, joining HMS Queen Of the Channel Fleet.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The Crimean War 1853-1856, Crimean Peninsular.
- The Indian Rebellion 1857, India.
- The Third Anglo-Ashanti War 1873-1874, West Africa.
- The Anglo-Zulu War 1879, South Africa.
- The South African War 1880-1881, South Africa.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 17th (The Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers |
| Action : War Survivor |
Although many perished in times of national conflict and in the service of their country, many more survived including those interned as Prisoners of War. Stories of those who did survive are included as part of this site, especially those with high gallantry awards, those included against an external rolls of honour and those who had a distinguished career in wartime and military leaderhip.
Detail :
An extensive military biography can be found at the website of The British Empire.
Awarded The Victoria Cross, recorded in the London Gazette 4th September, 1860 for his actions at Sindwaho and Sindhora, Uttar Pradesh, India on Tuesday, 19th October, 1858.
The citation for his Victoria Cross, dated 4th September, 1860, reads: "Lieutenant Henry Evelyn Wood, 17th Lancers, for having, on the 19th of October, 1858, during Action at Sindwaho, when in command of a Troop of the 3rd Light Cavalry, attacked with much gallantry, almost single-handed, a body of Rebels who had made a stand, whom he routed. Also, for having subsequently, near Siudhora, gallantly advanced with a Dutfadar and Sowar of Beatson's Horse, and rescued from a band of robbers, a Potail, Chemmum Singh, whom they had captured and carried off to the Jungles, where they intended to hang him."
He lived until the end of the First World War and died peacefully in Essex on 2nd December 1919. His body was brought to Aldershot to lie in state and be buried in the military cemetery there. There is a plaque to him in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral which says: INTREPID IN ACTION, UNTIRING IN DUTY FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | No. |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
- | - | - |
His mother lodge is not yet found. In the researches of Phillip May for his book Beyond the Five Points it can be seen that there are several instances where Evelyn appears as a "Brother." That being true, he was initiated before 1882.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley