Sir Redvers Henry Buller | |
---|---|
Born |
Crediton, Devon |
7 December 1839
Died | 2 June 1908 Crediton, Devon |
(aged 68)
Buried at | Holy Cross Churchyard, Crediton |
Allegiance | United Kingdom / British Empire |
Service/branch | British Army |
Years of service | 1858–1901 |
Rank | General |
Unit | King's Royal Rifle Corps |
Commands held |
Quartermaster-General to the Forces Adjutant-General to the Forces Aldershot Command |
Battles/wars |
Second Anglo-Chinese War Ashanti Campaign Xhosa Wars Anglo-Zulu War First Boer War Egypt campaign Mahdist War Second Boer War |
Awards |
Victoria Cross Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George |
General Sir Redvers Henry Buller VC, GCB, GCMG (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908), of Downes House, near Crediton in Devon, was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He served as Commander-in-Chief of British forces in South Africa during the early months of the Second Boer War and subsequently commanded the army in Natal until his return to England in November 1900.
Redvers was the second son and eventual heir of James Wentworth Buller (1798–1865), of Downes, MP for Exeter, by his wife Charlotte Juliana Jane Howard-Molyneux-Howard (d.1855), 3rd daughter of Lord Henry Thomas Howard-Molyneux-Howard, Deputy Earl Marshal and younger brother of Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk. Redvers Buller was born at the family estate of Downes, near Crediton in Devon, inherited by his great-grandfather James Buller (1740–1772) from his mother Elizabeth Gould, the wife of James Buller (1717–1765), MP. The Bullers were an old Cornish family, long seated at Morval in Cornwall until their removal to Downes. The family estates, including Downes, inherited in 1874 by Redvers Buller from his unmarried elder brother James Howard Buller (1835–1874) included 1,191 hectares (2,942 acres) of Devon and 880 hectares (2,174 acres) of Cornwall, which in 1876 produced an income of £14,137 a year.