List of Victorian era British generals facts for kids

This article is a list of important British generals who served during the time of Queen Victoria (from 1837 to 1901). These military leaders played key roles in many conflicts around the world during the British Empire's peak. They led soldiers in battles across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Generals from A to C

A

• General Richard Airey: He was a key helper to Lord Raglan during the Crimean War. Airey managed supplies and logistics for the army.
• General Sir Samuel Benjamin Auchmuty: He was an officer who worked closely with commanders. He also led infantry soldiers.
• Surgeon Major General Grahame Auchinleck M.D.: He was a doctor in the Army Medical Department. He served in the Anglo-Burmese War of 1853-54. He also took part in the 1858 Eusofzie Expedition in the North West Frontier. He was with the 81st Regiment during the Indian Mutiny.

B

• Major General Sir Geoffrey Barton: He led the 6th Infantry Brigade during the Second Boer War.
• Major General Sir Bindon Blood: He was the commander of British forces on the North-West Frontier in the 1890s.
• General Sir George Brown: He was a British division commander during the Crimean War.
• Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Butler: He was an Irish officer, writer, and adventurer. He was the Commander in Chief of British Forces in South Africa. This was at the start of the Second Boer War.
• General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, VC: He was a British Army officer and a Victoria Cross winner. This is the highest award for bravery. He commanded British Forces in South Africa early in the Second Boer War. He then led the army in Natal.

C

• General Prince George, Duke of Cambridge: He was the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army for a long time. He had to retire in 1895.
• Lieutenant General Lord Cardigan: He was a British aristocrat. He bought his way into the army and bought promotions. He became commander of the Light Brigade. He led its famous charge in 1854 during the Crimean War.
• Field Marshal Sir Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde: He was a Scottish Highlander commander. He served during the Crimean War. He was the overall British commander during the Indian Mutiny.
• Major General John Talbot Coke: He led the 10th Infantry Brigade during the Second Boer War.
• Major General Sir George Pomeroy Colley: He was Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in South Africa. This was during the First Boer War. He was killed in action at the Battle of Majuba Hill.
• Major General Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught: He commanded the Guards Brigade. This was during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882.

Generals from D to G

D

• Lieutenant-General Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald: He led a special mounted division during the Second Boer War.

E

• Major General William Elphinstone: He commanded the Anglo-Indian army that invaded Afghanistan in 1841. He was captured by tribesmen during a terrible retreat. He died while being held captive.

F

• Major-General Sir George Townshend Forestier-Walker: He was a commander of British forces in the Cape Colony. He was also a senior British Army officer during World War I.

G

• Lieutenant General Sir William Forbes Gatacre: He led a division of two brigades at the Battle of Omdurman. He also led the 3rd Division during the Second Boer War. He suffered a big defeat at the Battle of Stormberg.
• Major General Charles George Gordon: He was a famous Royal Engineer officer. He worked for the British-controlled Egyptian government. He was governor-general of Sudan. He was killed after the Siege of Khartoum during the Mahdist War.
• Field Marshal Viscount Gough: He commanded British forces during the First Opium War. He also led forces in the First and Second Sikh Wars.
• Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Graham: He was a Victoria Cross winner. He was a senior commander during the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Mahdist War in the 1880s.

Generals from H to L

H

• General Sir Ian Hamilton: He was a brigade commander in the Tirah Field Force. He held many roles during the Second Boer War. He commanded Allied troops during the difficult Gallipoli campaign.
• Major General Sir Henry Havelock: He commanded units in the Indian Mutiny. This included the group that took back the city of Cawnpore. He also helped relieve the siege of Lucknow for the first time. He died of dysentery after the siege was finally lifted.
• General Sir Bruce Meade Hamilton: He was a British Army general. He served during the Second Boer War and the First World War.

K

• Field Marshal Lord Kitchener: He commanded British troops in the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War. He was Secretary of State for War during the First World War. He drowned when his ship hit a German underwater mine.

L

• Field Marshal Lord Lucan: Like his rival Lord Cardigan, Lucan bought his way up the ranks. He became commander of the Cavalry Division. This division included the Light Brigade during the Crimean War.
• General Sir Neville Lyttelton: He commanded the 4th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom) during the Second Boer War.

Generals from M to R

M

• Major General Sir Hector MacDonald: He was a Scottish commander. He led troops during the Mahdist War and the Second Boer War in the late 1890s. He died in 1903.
• Field Marshal Paul Sanford Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen: He commanded the 1st Division during the Second Boer War.

N

• General Sir Charles James Napier: He commanded the Anglo-Indian army that conquered Scinde in India. It is said he made a joke, "I have sinned," after his bloody conquest.
• Field Marshal Robert Napier, Baron Napier: He commanded the British force that defeated King Theodore II of Ethiopia. The king had tortured British officials.
• Brigadier John Nicholson: He was an unusual East India Company officer. He oversaw the recapture of Delhi. Indian mutineers had taken over Delhi in 1857.
• Lieutenant General Sir William Sherbrooke Ramsey Norcott: He commanded the Rifle Brigade during the Crimean War. He was also a special aide to Queen Victoria.

P

• General Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer: He fought in the Second Boer War and World War I. On the Western Front in 1917, he succeeded in the Battle of Messines. Later, he became Governor of Mandatory Palestine.

R

• Major-General James Rawlins: He was a British Indian Army Goorkha and Staff Corps officer.
• Major-General Sir Redvers Henry Buller: He was a veteran soldier from wars in Africa. He commanded the 1st Army Corps in the Second Boer War.
• Field Marshal Lord Roberts: He was a long-serving British Army officer in India. He was a senior commander in the Second Afghan War. He also commanded at one point in the Second Boer War.

Generals from S to W

S

• Lieutenant General Sir Harry Smith: He was a senior commander in the Xhosa Wars and the First Sikh War.
• Field Marshal Hugh Rose, 1st Baron Strathnairn: He was a major-general in the Crimean War. He then became Commander-in-chief in India and later in Ireland.
• Major-General Sir William Penn Symons: He was badly wounded at the Battle of Talana Hill during the Second Boer War.
• General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien: He was a British Army General. He was one of the few British survivors of the Battle of Isandlwana as a young officer. He also did very well in the Second Boer War.

T

• General Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford

W

• Surgeon Major General John Warren, M.R.C.S.: He was a doctor in the Army Medical Department. He served with the 1st (Royal) Dragoons. He also served in the Second Afghan War with the 15th (King’s) Hussars. He was present during the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882 and at Suakin in 1885.
• Field Marshal Sir George Stuart White: He was Quartermaster-General to the Forces (1898–99). He was also Commander-in-Chief in Natal, South Africa at the start of the Second Boer War. His forces were cut off and surrounded at Ladysmith.
• Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley: He was a Victoria Cross winner. He commanded forces in Africa. He served in the Indian Mutiny, Ashanti Wars, and Anglo-Egyptian War. He also led the Gordon Relief Expedition in the Mahdist War.
• Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood: He received the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny in 1858. He later commanded many times in the Zulu War and the Mahdist War.
• Major General Sir Edward Robert Prevost Woodgate: He commanded the 11th Infantry Brigade during the Second Boer War. He was badly wounded at the Battle of Spion Kop.
• General Sir Arthur Singleton Wynne: He commanded the 11th Infantry Brigade at the Battle of the Tugela Heights during the Second Boer War.
• Major-General Andrew Gilbert Wauchope: He was a British Army officer. He was killed while leading a brigade at the Battle of Magersfontein in the South African War.