Hugh Rowlands

He rescued a surrounded colonel and held the exposed picquet

Hugh Rowlands was born at Plas Tirion near Llanrug in north Wales on 6 May 1828. Educated at Beaumaris and prepared for an Army commission at Woolwich, he joined the 41st Regiment of Foot as an ensign on 25 September 1849. He became a captain in 1854 and accompanied the regiment to the Crimea.

After fighting at the Alma, he distinguished himself during the battle of Inkerman on 5 November 1854. Colonel Haly of the 47th Regiment lay wounded and surrounded by Russian soldiers. Rowlands went to his rescue and subsequently helped maintain the ground held by the advanced picquet during the opening of the action. These deeds brought him the Victoria Cross.

He returned to the fighting after recovering from his wounds and served through the siege of Sevastopol. He took part in the attacks on the Quarries and the Redan and was wounded again. His service also brought the French Legion of Honour and Ottoman decorations, alongside the Crimean campaign medal.

Rowlands later commanded his regiment and then the 34th Foot. In 1867 he married Isabella Jane Barrow. His subsequent overseas service included South Africa in 1878-79, where he commanded troops during campaigns against African resistance and served in the Zulu War. He rose to major-general in 1881, lieutenant-general in 1890 and general in 1894.

Important later appointments included command in the Madras presidency in India, a brief period as lieutenant of the Tower of London and command in Scotland. He retired from the active list in 1896 but continued as colonel of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment. His later knighthood within the Order of the Bath recognized a career extending far beyond the Crimea.

Returning to north Wales, he died at Plas Tirion on 1 August 1909 and was buried at St Michael’s, Llanrug. His only son had died of wounds in Somaliland in 1903, adding a later loss to the family’s military history.