Hugh Gough (Indian Army officer)
General Sir Hugh Henry Gough, was a senior British Indian Army officer and a 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.
Early life
Gough was born into a family of Anglo-Irish gentry in Calcutta, Bengal, India, on 14 November 1833. He was commissioned ensign in the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry in September 1853 aged 19, and was still serving with the Indian Army on the outbreak of the First Indian War of Independence in 1857.Victoria Cross
Gough was 23 years old, and a lieutenant in the 1st Bengal European Light Cavalry during the 1857 Rebellion, when the following deeds took place for which he was awarded the VC:Later career
Gough commanded the 12th Bengal Cavalry in the 1868 Abyssinian expedition, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in August 1868. He served under General Frederick Roberts during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, including the battles of Peiwar Kotal in December 1878 and Charasia in October 1879. He also commanded the cavalry brigade on Roberts' march from Kabul to Kandahar in August 1880, and the Battle of Kandahar on 1 September 1880. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1881.After a number of senior military posts in India, Gough achieved the rank of general in 1894. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1896, before retiring a year later. He was then appointed Keeper of the Jewel House at the Tower of London, dying while still holding this office on 12 May 1909. He was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery.
Family
General Gough was the third son of Judge George Gough and Charlotte Margaret Becher. He was brother to General Sir Charles Gough, and uncle of the senior First World War commanders General Sir Hubert Gough and Brigadier General Sir John Gough. He was the grandnephew of Field Marshal The 1st Viscount Gough.Gough married Anne Margaret Hill on 8 September 1863 and they had five sons and four daughters. These included Charlotte Elise Gough, who married Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wilson, by whom she had three children:
- Captain Arthur Henry Maitland Wilson, 12th Cavalry, b 22 January 1885, accidentally killed in Khaniken, Mesopotamia 29 January 1918.
- Hugh Maitland Wilson, 6 April 1886.
- Muriel Maitland Wilson, died unmarried 25 June 1950.