Charles FitzClarence
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Charles FitzClarence VC |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 8 May 1865 Bishopscourt, County Kildare |
| Died | 12 November 1914 (aged 49) Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
| Buried at | Menin Gate Memorial |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1886–1914 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Unit |
Royal Fusiliers Protectorate Regiment Irish Guards |
| Commands held | 1st (Guards) Brigade |
| Battles/wars |
Second Boer War World War I † |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Brigadier General Charles FitzClarence VC (8 May 1865 – 12 November 1914) was an Anglo-Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Charles FitzClarence was born in County Kildare, the son of Captain George FitzClarence (15 April 1836 – 24 March 1894) and Maria Henrietta Scott (1841 – 27 July 1912). He had a twin brother named Edward. His paternal grandfather was The 1st Earl of Munster, an illegitimate son of William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV of the United Kingdom). He joined the Royal Fusiliers in 1886 but his early career was blighted by several bouts of illness and he spent much of his time in administrative and staff roles. In 1899 he volunteered to serve as a Special Service Officer at Mafeking, South Africa and was given the duty of training a squadron of the Protectorate Regiment.
FitzClarence was 34 years old, and a captain in The Royal Fusiliers, British Army, during the Second Boer War when the following deeds took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross:
On the 14th October, 1899, Captain FitzClarence went with his squadron of the Protectorate Regiment, consisting of only partially trained men, who had never been in action, to the assistance of an armoured train which had gone out from Mafeking. The enemy were in greatly superior numbers, and the squadron was for a time surrounded, and it looked as if nothing could save them from being shot down. Captain FitzClarence, however, by his personal coolness and courage inspired the greatest confidence in his men, and, by his bold and efficient handling of them, not only succeeded in relieving the armoured train, but inflicted a heavy defeat on the Boers, who lost 50 killed and a large number wounded, his own losses being 2 killed and 15 wounded. The moral effect of this blow had a very important bearing on subsequent encounters with the Boers.
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