Frederick Roberts

FIELD MARSHALL FREDERICK ROBERTS (1st EARL ROBERTS) VC d1914. British Victorian era general who became one of the most successful British military commanders of his time. Born in India to an Anglo-Irish family, he joined the East India Company Army and served as a young officer in the Indian Rebellion during which he was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry. He was then transferred to the British Army and fought in the Expedition to Abyssinia and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, in which his exploits earned him widespread fame. He would go on to serve as the Commander-in-Chief India before leading British Forces for a year during the Second Boer War. He also became the last Commander-in-Chief of the Forces before the post was abolished in 1904. He was affectionately known to his troops and the wider British public as "Bobs" and revered as one of Britain's leading military figures at a time when the British Empire reached the height of its power. He became a symbol for the British Army and in later life became an influential proponent of stronger defence in response to the increasing threat that the German Empire posed to Britain in the lead up to the First World War. He died in France aged 82 on November 14th 1914 and is buried in St Pauls Cathedral