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Hector Stewart Vandeleur F/Mc Married Married Married Married: 1867 Charlotte M Foster F/Mc | |||||
| (Cecil Foster) Seymour Vandeleur [CFT #9539] Born: 1869-Jul-11 Died: 1901 |
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| b London d South Africa Seymour was a fearless decorated soldier who served all over Africa in the late nineteenth century. He saw action in Uganda, Nigeria, Egypt and, in 1898, with Kitchener's army in the Sudan at the Battle of Omdurman. He met a dramatic and heroic death in South Africa in 1901. The locomotive he was travelling on to take up a command at Nylstroom, north of Pretoria, was blown from the tracks by a notorious Irish train-wrecker, Jack Hindon. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, fifty or so Boers opened fire on the beleaguered train's passenger carriages. Two ladies travelling in Seymour's carriage were wounded and he instructed the civilian passengers to lie on the floor. As he opened the door to assume command of the other soldiers travelling on the train, he was immediately confronted by a Boer, named Uys, who shot him dead at point blank range. Seymour's extraordinary career was later documented in a eulogistic book by his great friend, the renowned general, Sir (Frederick) Ivor Maxse. Seymour had been Maxse's best man. He died unmarried. The NEW YORK TIMES reported as follows on 1st September 1901 LIEUT. COL. VANDELEUR SLAIN. One of the Best-Known Officers in the British Army Killed in Boer Attack on a Train. LONDON, Aug.31 - A dispatch from Lord Kitchener, dated Pretoria, to-day says: "A train was blown up to-day between Waterval and Haman's Kraal by 250 Boers, who at once fired on the train, setting it on fire. Lieut. Col. Vandeleur of the Irish Guards, a most promising officer, was killed. The other casualties have not yet been reported." Lord Kitchener has hardly ever before referred in terms similar to those contained in the foregoing dispatch to a deceased officer, and this shows the esteem in which Lieut. Col. Vandeleur was held better than anything else could do. The Irishman who lost his life through the blowing up of the train near Waterval was not only one of the most promising but also one of the greatest favorites in society among the officers of the British Army. His career was a brilliant one almost from the day he entered the service, and he was honored in a manner that was unique, becoming a Lieutenant, Captain and Major in the same year. At the time of his death he was one of the youngest officers of his rank in the service. C F Seymour Vandeleur was born on July 11th 1869 being the son of Hector S Vandeleur of Kilrush, Ireland. He was educated at Eton and from there went to Sandhurst. In 1880 he entered the army as a Lieutenamt in the Scots Guards and soon afterward became a Captain and a Major. In 1894 he was sent on special service to Uganda, and from then on had seen almost continuous service. In 1805 he took part in the Unyoro expedition: the following year he served on the Nile: he took a prominent and galant part in the Niger expedition of 1807, and the same year the Royal Geographical Society awarded the Murchison Grant to him for his valuable work in surveying in East Africa and the Niger district. He surveyed no less than 2,073 miles. After a few months in England as aide de camp to Lord Methuen, commanding the home distrect, Major Vandeleur went out to Africa again, and served with the Egyptian Army in the Soudan expedition of 1808. He was wounded at the battle of Khartoum, and received the Medjidieh Medal for his gallantry. Besides being a brilliant soldier, Liuet. Col. Vandeleur was famous as a sportsman, and during his brief periods at home was an enthusiastic polo player. He wrote a book entitled "Campaigning on the Upper Nile and Niger." |
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