Major General Sir Edward Woodgate | |
|---|---|
 Edward Robert Prevost Woodgate | |
| Birth name | Edward Robert Prevost Woodgate |
| Born | 1 November 1845 Belbroughton,United Kingdom |
| Died | (1900-03-23)23 March 1900 (aged 54) Mooi River,Colony of Natal,British Empire |
| Buried | St John's Anglican Church, just outsideMooi River |
| Allegiance |  British Empire |
| Service |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1865–1900 |
| Rank | Major general |
| Unit | King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) |
| Commands | 9th Brigade of the 5th Division |
| Battles / wars | Abyssinian War Anglo-Ashanti wars Anglo-Zulu War Second Boer War |
| Awards | Mentioned in Dispatches Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Order of the Bath |
| Alma mater | Radley College |
Sir Edward Robert Prevost WoodgateKCMG CB (1 November 1845 – 23 March 1900) was an infantry officer in theBritish Army.
Woodgate was born in November 1845 atBelbroughton,Worcestershire, the son of Rev Henry Arthur Woodgate, Rector of Holy Trinity parish church there.[1] He was educated atRadley College inBerkshire (nowOxfordshire).
In April 1865 Woodgate was commissioned into the 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot, which in 1881 was renamed theKing's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment). He served in theAbyssinian War 1868 (and was present at the action of Arogee and the capture of Magdala), then theAshanti War from 1873 to 1874 (where he took part in the actions of Esaman, Ainsah, Abrakampa, and Faysunah, thebattle of Amoaful, and the capture of Kumassi), for which he wasmentioned in despatches. After Staff College in 1877, he took part in theAnglo-Zulu War 1879, where he was again mentioned in despatches for his work as staff officer of the Flying column in the campaign, and received abrevet promotion tomajor. From 1880 to 1885 he served as a brigade major in the West Indies, subsequently returning to regimental duties. In 1893 he was appointed in command of the 1st battalion of his regiment, and in 1897 he relinquished this position to take charge of the 4th Regimental District atLancaster. Less than a year later, he was in April 1898 specially sent to Sierra Leone to organize the new West African Regiment (later reorganized into theWest African Field Force), which soon was involved in fighting against Bai Bureh. By now a colonel, Woodgate returned hom in 1899 to take command of the 17th District at Leicester.[2]
He had only held the Leicester-command four months, when after the outbreak of theSecond Boer War he was appointed in command of the 11thbrigade of the5th Division. At theBattle of Spion Kop he commanded a large force that was sent to capture the strategic hill in a night assault on 23 January 1900.[3] The next morning a shell splinter struck Woodgate's head above the right eye.[4] He suffered a brain injury associated with a shattered orbit.[1] While being carried down the hill to hospital on a stretcher, he struggled to rejoin his men and had to be forcibly restrained. As a result of thetrauma he lost all recent memory and had no recollection of the war.[1]
Woodgate later fell into acoma and died atMooi River,Natal on 23 March 1900, aged 54. He is buried in the churchyard of St John's Anglican Church just outside Mooi River.[1]
Woodgate left afiancée, Gladys Newbolt.[1] At his birthplace in Belbroughton the Medieval churchyard cross was restored as a monument to him.[5]
Abyssinian War Medal (1868)[6] Ashanti War Medal (1873–4) and bar andmentioned in dispatches,[6] Zulu War Campaign Medal (1879)[1] and bar and mentioned in despatches,[6] Sierra Leone 1898 and mentioned in despatches, invested as aCompanion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).[6] He was invested as aCompanion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in May 1896[6] andKnight Commander in Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in January 1900.[6]
Woodgate's will was proved in the Principal Registry of the Probate Division of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice on 30 June 1900, by his twoexecutors,Lieutenant-Colonel Edward De Barry Barnett of 32 Cambridge Square,Hyde Park, London and George Nicholas Hardinge of 17 Lower Berkeley Street,London. His home address was given asUnited Services Club,Pall Mall, London[7]
"WOODGATE Edward R.P. -1900".eGGSA Library. The Genealogical Society of South Africa. – photograph of the inscribedledger stone on Woodgate's grave.