Forgotten Victorian Generals

The British Army of the Victorian era is rather looked down upon in many ways. In a post-Imperial age, stereotypes, preconceptions, and misconceptions, abound. This is particularly true of its generals. Many of then household names and ‘national heroes’ in their day, now all but forgotten. The aim of this book is not to laud generals of the Victorian era, but to attempt to understand them. Although their motivations, principles, and beliefs are alien to the modern reader, there is still much an examination of their careers has to teach us.

The officers described in this book had varied careers. Yet at one time each of them played a significant role in public affairs, whether for good or ill. Each were very different in their exercise of ‘command and control’, and through their careers we encompass the whole Victorian Era British Army. Some of the men featured in this book were prominent in Africa and India, the two great sources of colonial campaigns during the Victorian era, whilst other excelled in the War Office, or in the more political and civil-military relations side of the Army. In short, the officers featured in this book are a good eclectic mix of types, styles, career, outlook, and experience of military life during the Victorian Era. Their careers also encompass the majority of Queen Victoria’s reign.

An examination of their careers still has much to teach the modern reader. The aim has been to create a work that is both accessible to the casual reader and the serious student of military history. Although the individuals featured in this book will never again reach the heights of publicity many of them enjoyed in their lifetimes, it is hoped that this new work will highlight their careers and the significant part they played in the British Army, British society, and the British Empire.

Chapter 1 – Field Marshal Sir George White (1835-1912) By Dr Rodney Atwood

Chapter 2 – General Sir William Lockhart (1841-1900) By Professor Ian Beckett

Chapter 3 – Field Marshal Sir Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala (1810-1890) By Dr Christopher Brice

Chapter 4 – Major General Sir John Ardagh (1840-1907) By Dr Edward Gosling

Chapter 5 – General Sir Arthur Cunynghame (1812-1884) By Professor John Laband

Chapter 6 – Field Marshal Sir William Nicholson, 1st Baron Nicholson of Roundhay (1845-1918) By Paul Ramsey

Chapter 7 – Brigadier General Robert Loyd-Lindsay, 1st Baron Wantage (1832-1901) By Dr Roger Stearn