William Vousden

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox military person Major-General William John Vousden, Template:Postnominals (20 September 1848 – 12 November 1902) was a Scottish officer in the Indian Army, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Military career

Vousden was born in Perth, Scotland the son of Captain Vousden, and was educated at Kings School Canterbury.<ref name=TTobit />

He trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot in 1864. Promoted to lieutenant in 1867, and to captain in 1876, he transferred to the 5th Punjab Cavalry where he served in the Jowaki Expedition 1877–78.<ref name=TTobit />

Victoria cross

He was 34 years old, and a captain in the 5th Punjab Cavalry, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War when the following deed took place on 14 December 1879 on the Koh Asmai Heights, near Kabul, Afghanistan, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross: Template:Quote

Further military service

He continued to serve in the 5th Punjab Cavalry, was promoted to major in 1884, and took part in further fighting on the North-West Frontier region, for which he was mentioned in despatches on 8 June 1891 and 26 January 1898.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was promoted to the brevet rank of colonel in July 1894<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and the substantive rank of Colonel of the Indian Staff Corps in January 1899.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1900.

In April 1901 he took a command in the Punjab Frontier Force with the temporary rank of brigadier-general,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and shortly thereafter he was granted the local rank of major general.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

He was appointed to act as Inspector General of Cavalry in India from October 1901, in the absence in South Africa of Colonel Edward Locke Elliot,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and received the temporary rank of major general while officiating as such.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> Following the end of the war in South Africa, Elliott returned in late 1902, and Vousden stepped down.<ref>Template:Cite newspaper The Times</ref>

He retired from the army on 1 November 1902,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and died in India of dysentery only two weeks later, on 12 November 1902 at the age of 54.<ref name=TTobit>Template:Cite newspaper The Times</ref>

Family

Vousden married, in 1891, a daughter of Major-General Drummond.<ref name=TTobit />

References

Notes

Sources

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)

External links

• Biography