Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts

Crossed open ground to recover British guns under enemy fire

Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts was born at Ambala, India, on 8 January 1872, the son of the future Field Marshal Lord Roberts and Nora Henrietta Roberts. Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, he joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps in June 1891 and spent his first years with its 1st Battalion in India.

He served in the Isazai expedition in 1892 and became a lieutenant in 1894. As aide-de-camp to Sir William Lockhart during the Waziristan operations of 1894-95, and subsequently during the relief of Chitral, he gained experience of campaigning on the Indian frontier. Both expeditions brought mentions in despatches. He later served on his father's staff in Ireland and as an extra aide-de-camp to Kitchener during the Sudan campaign, including Omdurman in 1898.

Roberts went to southern Africa during the opening months of the Boer War. At Colenso on 15 December 1899, British artillery had advanced into an exposed position, where concentrated Boer fire killed or wounded men and horses. Roberts joined officers and volunteers attempting to recover the abandoned guns of the 14th and 66th Batteries. Starting from cover in a donga, they crossed the open ground to bring teams to the guns. Roberts helped limber a gun despite the close-range fire and was badly wounded during the attempt.

He died from his injuries on 17 December, aged twenty-seven, before his father arrived to assume command of British forces in South Africa. His Victoria Cross was sent to his mother in January 1900. He was unmarried. The medals preserved together at the National Army Museum reflect a short career that had already encompassed the Indian frontier, the Sudan and South Africa.

Official Victoria Cross citation, recipient-specific passage (London Gazette, 2 February 1900):

Lieutenant Roberts assisted Captain Congreve. He was wounded in three places.