Charles Herbert Mullins

Under intense fire, he rallied an advance near Elandslaagte.

Charles Herbert Mullins was born on 28 June 1869 in Grahamstown, Cape Colony. He studied at St Andrew's College and Keble College, Oxford, and was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1893. During the Second Boer War he served with the Imperial Light Horse (Natal), a South African colonial mounted unit.

At Elandslaagte on 21 October 1899, the advance stalled under close-range fire. Captain Mullins and Captain Robert Johnston rushed forward, rallied the men and enabled the flanking movement that decided the battle. Mullins was wounded in the action. The Victoria Cross award appeared in the London Gazette, issue 27283, page 1059, on 12 February 1901. King Edward VII invested both men on 25 July 1901.

Mullins also served in the defence of Ladysmith and in operations towards the relief of Mafeking. He was severely wounded at Maritsani in May 1900. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), but the precise appointment date requires confirmation. He later served as president of special courts in Swaziland and Bechuanaland.

He died in Johannesburg on 24 May 1916 from the effects of his wounds and was buried in Grahamstown Old Cemetery.