British Field Marshal and Victoria Cross recipient. He joined the Royal Navy in April 1852 as a Midshipman, and was wounded in action as a member of the Naval Brigade at the siege of Sebastopol (1854-1855) during the Crimean War. Subsequently he joined the Army, and was commissioned a Lieutenant. Wood first served in the Thirteenth Light Dragoons, 1855-1857, then transferred to the Seventeenth Lancers in 1857 and was posted to India, where he saw action during the Indian Mutiny. On October 19 1858, his actions at Sindwaho led to the award of the Victoria Cross. The citation for his Victoria Cross, dated September 4, 1860, reads: "Lieutenant Henry Evelyn Wood, 17th Lancers, for having, on the 19th of October, 1858, during Action at Sindwaho, when in command of a Troop of the 3rd Light Cavalry, attacked with much gallantry, almost single-handed, a body of Rebels who had made a stand, whom he routed. Also, for having subsequently, near Siudhora, gallantly advanced with a Dutfadar and Sowar of Beatson's Horse, and rescued from a band of robbers, a Potail, Chemmum Singh, whom they had captured and carried off to the Jungles, where they intended to hang him." Promoted to Capatin in 1861, he was assigned to the Seventy-third Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Highlanders) in 1862. He was promoted to Major in 1871, while an officer in the Ninetieth Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Light Infantry). Posted to South Africa, Wood participated in the Ashanti War 1873-1874. During the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, now as a Colonel, Wood was given command of one of the three initial columns for the invasion of Zululand, the Northern Column. After suffing defeat at Hlobane on March 28, 1879, Wood's column was victorious the next day at the Battle of Kambula. He also participated in the Battle of Ulundi on July 4, 1879, the decisive battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. After the war, he was invested a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). During the First Boer War, in 1881 Wood was sent back to South Africa. In 1882, he was invested a Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG). During the Anglo-Sudan War, he commanded the British forces at the Battle of Gennis on December 30, 1885; this victory marked the last time British soldiers wore scarlet jackets in battle. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1891, and reached the rank of General in 1895, and given Britain's Southern Command in 1901. In 1903, he was promoted to Field Marshal. Following his retirement from the Army, he became a Justice of the Peace, and was appointed His Majesty's Deputy Lieutenant for Essex. In 1911, he was appointed Constable of the Tower of London. Two years later, Wood's knighthood was elevated in 1913 to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). He was the author of many books; including "The Crimea in 1854 and 1894" (1895), "Cavalry in the Waterloo Campaign" (1895), "Achievements of Cavalry (1897), "The Revolt in Hindustan 1857-1859" (1908), "From Midshipman to Field Marshal" (1906), "British Battles on Land and Sea" (1915), "Our Fighting Servies And How They Made the Empire" (1916), and "Winnowed Memories" (1918).