Lieutenant-General Sir Wilbraham Oates Lennox (4 August 1830 – 7 February 1897) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was the first Royal Engineer officer to win the VC.

VC action

Lennox was a 24 years old lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army, at the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War, when he was awarded the VC for his:

For his Crimea service, Lennox was also mentioned in dispatches and received the Ottoman Order of the Medjidieh (fifth class) and the Sardinian Medal of Military Valor.

Later career

Returning to England in August 1856, Lennox left again in April 1857 for China. His engineer company was however diverted to India and served in the Indian Mutiny. After service at Lucknow, Lennox was mentioned in dispatches and received brevet promotions of major and lieutenant-colonel. He left India in March 1859, and was on the staff of the School of Military Engineering, Chatham from 1866 to 1873.

Lennox was attached as an observer to the German army during the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War, and attended Prussian military manoeuvres in 1869 and 1872. After home service, he became military attaché at Constantinople in October 1876, and accompanied the Turkish armies during the Russo-Turkish War. He commanded the Royal Engineers at the Curragh, Ireland, from 1878 until his promotion to major-general in August 1881. From August 1884 he commanded the garrison at Alexandria, Egypt, and was responsible for landing the troops and stores for the 1884–85 Gordon relief expedition. In April 1887 he moved to command the troops in Ceylon, returning home in 1888 on promotion to lieutenant-general. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in May 1891 and was director-general of military education at the War Office from January 1893 until his retirement in May 1895.

<!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|175px|Grave and memorial at Lewes Road Cemetery, [[Brighton, Sussex.]] -->

Lennox's medals, including his Victoria Cross, are displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham, Kent.

Lennox Row, a road in Brompton, Gillingham, Kent is named after him.

References

  • Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
  • The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
  • The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)
  • Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
  • Location of grave and VC medal (East Sussex)