Field Marshal Sir Henry Evelyn Wood,
VC,
GCB,
GCMG (9 February 1838 – 2 December 1919) was a British Army officer. After an early career in the
Royal Navy, Wood joined the
British Army. He served in several major conflicts including the
Indian Mutiny where, as a lieutenant, he was awarded the
Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy that is awarded to
British and
Commonwealth forces, for rescuing a local merchant from a band of robbers who had taken their captive into the jungle, where they intended to hang him. Wood further served as a commander in several other conflicts, notably the Third
Anglo-Ashanti War, the
Anglo-Zulu War, the
First Boer War and the
Mahdist War. His service in Egypt led to his appointment as
Sirdar where he reorganised the
Egyptian Army. He returned to Britain to serve as
General Offier Commanding-in-Chief Aldershot Command from 1889, as
Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1893 and as
Adjutant General from 1897. His last appointment was as
General Offier Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command from 1905.