Lt. Col. Wilbraham Oates Lennox V.C.

A carte-de-visite portrait of Lt. Col. Wilbraham Oates Lennox (1830-1897), who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valour at the siege of Sebastopol.

Born Wilbraham Oates Lennox on 4 May 1830 at Molecomb House, Goodwood, he was the fourth son of Lieut.-Col. Lord George Lennox (1793-1873). His grandfather was the 4th Duke of Richmond.

He joined the Royal Engineers as a 2nd lieutenant on 27 June 1848. He landed in the Crimea on 30 September 1854 and served there with the army until it reembarked in June 1856. He was present throughout the seige and capture of Sebestopol, gaining the Victoria Cross for valour during the capture of some rifle pits. He subsequently served in India during the Mutiny and was present at the relief of Lucknow. During the Franco-Prussian War he was attached to the German army and was military attaché with the Turkish troops from 24 October 1876 to 26 February 1878 during the Russo-Turkish War. He commanded the garrison at Alexandria (1884), troops in Lower Egypt (1885-86) and troops in Ceylon (1887-88). From 22 January 1893 to 8 May 1895 he was director general of military education. He was made a Companion of the Bath in 1867 and a Knight Commander of the Bath in 1891.

He married firstly in 1861 Mary, daughter of Robert Harrison. His first wife gave him one son and a daughter before her death in 1863. In 1867 he married secondly Susan Hay, daughter of Admiral Sir John Gordon Sinclair. His second wife gave him 5 more children, 2 of which predeceased him.

According to his entry in Who Was Who 1897-1915, he ‘was very keen and successful in shooting big-game while quartered in Ceylon, 1850-54, when elephants were so destructive that the government offered a reward for every one that was killed; also patented a light portable table specially suitable for camp; also invented Tug-of-War and Pallas Word-Game; travelled twice through Palestine, and once round the world.’

General Sir Wilbraham Oates Lennox died on 7 February 1897 at 49 Claverton Street, St George’s Road, Pimlico. He was buried with his family in the cemetery off the Lewes Road in Brighton.

Photographed by Camille Silvy of London 28 December 1860.