Fenton John Aylmer
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General Sir Fenton John Aylmer, 13th Baronet of Donadea
VC
KCB
(5 April 1862 – 3 September 1935) was an English
recipient of the Victoria Cross
. He was in command of the first failed efforts to break the siege of Kut
in 1916.
He was the son of Captain Fenton John Aylmer (24 December 1835 – 9 April 1862) and Isabella Eleanor Darling (died 27 December 1908).
He attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, as a Gentleman Cadet and was promoted Lieutenant
on 27 July 1880.
On 2 December 1891 during the assault on Nilt Fort, British India, Captain Aylmer, with the storming party, forced open the inner gate with gun-cotton which he had placed and ignited, and although severely wounded, fired 19 shots with his revolver, killing several of the enemy, and remained fighting until, fainting from loss of blood, he was carried out of action.
Fenton was 29 years old, and a captain
in the Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army
and Bengal Sappers & Miners (British Indian Army
), during the Hunza-Naga Campaign, India when he won the Victoria Cross
in 1891.
He was promoted Major
on 18 October 1893 in recognition of his services during the 1891-92 Hunza-Nagar Expedition. He was part of the Chitral expedition
in 1895.
In 1913 he married Lady Risley, the widow of Sir Herbert Risley, head of the Indian Civil Serevice. Born Elsie Julie Oppermann, daughter of Friedrich Oppermann, she was considered a great beauty and had, for many years prior to her marriage to him had an affair with Aylmer—an affair that was well-known within Indian society and apparently tolerated by Sir Herbert. . Lady Elsie Julie Aylmer died on 18 July 1934.
. General Aylmer was in command of the Tigris Corps, consisting of the 7th (Meerut) Division
, the 12th Indian Division
, and a number of other smaller military units. All told he had more than 20,000 men. They left Basra
in late December 1915 and arrived at Sheikh Sa'ad in 3 January 1916. While the 12th Indian Division (under command of General George Gorringe
) made a diversionary move near Nasiriyeh, the 7th (under the command of General Younghusband) staged a direct assault on the Ottoman positions on 6 January (the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad
). After two days of fighting, the Ottoman army withdrew. The British sustained approximately 4,000 casualties - much more than the medical units could cope with. The Ottoman troops, under the generalship of Baron von der Goltz
only withdrew some six miles up river and occupied another defensive position near the edge of the Suwaikiya Marshes. A British assault on this position on 13 January was partially successful, the position was carried but again with significant losses (some 1,600 casualties) (the Battle of Wadi).
By now, a third division had been added to Aylmer's Tigris Corps, the 3rd (Lahore) Division
. This new division, along with the weakened 7th Division, attacked Ottoman defensive works at Hanna on 21 January (the Battle of Hanna
). This assault was a complete failure. The Ottoman troops held their trench lines while some 2,700 British soldiers were killed or wounded.
General Aylmer was reinforced with another division, the 13th (Western) Division. The next month was spent resting the troops and probing the Ottoman defensive positions. With time running out on General Townshend
's garrison in Kut
, Aylmer finally launched a two pronged attack on the Ottoman positions, one attack at the Sinn Abtar Redoubt, the other attack at the Dujaila Redoubt
. The attacks were launched on 7 March 1916. Both attacks failed due to lack of initiative and an inability to coordinate the timing of the assaults (they ended up being sequential, not simultaneous). The British lost some 4,000 casualties.
Fenton Aylmer was replaced by the former commander of the 12th Indian division, General George Gorringe
. He did not command in battle again, retiring from the army in 1919. However from 1922 till his death he was the Commandant of the Royal Engineers
. Following his death in 1935 he was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium
where his ashes remain.
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum
in Chatham, Kent, England.
Aylmer Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Aylmer, both in the Baronetage of Ireland. Both titles are extant as of 2008....
VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(5 April 1862 – 3 September 1935) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. He was in command of the first failed efforts to break the siege of Kut
Siege of Kut
The siege of Kut Al Amara , was the besieging of 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Its known also as 1st Battle of Kut. In 1915, its population was around 6,500...
in 1916.
He was the son of Captain Fenton John Aylmer (24 December 1835 – 9 April 1862) and Isabella Eleanor Darling (died 27 December 1908).
He attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, as a Gentleman Cadet and was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on 27 July 1880.
The Victoria Cross
Fenton won the VC for the following deed:On 2 December 1891 during the assault on Nilt Fort, British India, Captain Aylmer, with the storming party, forced open the inner gate with gun-cotton which he had placed and ignited, and although severely wounded, fired 19 shots with his revolver, killing several of the enemy, and remained fighting until, fainting from loss of blood, he was carried out of action.
Fenton was 29 years old, and a captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in the Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and Bengal Sappers & Miners (British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
), during the Hunza-Naga Campaign, India when he won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in 1891.
He was promoted Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
on 18 October 1893 in recognition of his services during the 1891-92 Hunza-Nagar Expedition. He was part of the Chitral expedition
Chitral Expedition
The Chitral Expedition was a military expedition in 1895 sent by the British authorities to relieve the fort at Chitral which was under siege after a local coup.-Background to the conflict:Chitral was at the extreme north west of British India...
in 1895.
In 1913 he married Lady Risley, the widow of Sir Herbert Risley, head of the Indian Civil Serevice. Born Elsie Julie Oppermann, daughter of Friedrich Oppermann, she was considered a great beauty and had, for many years prior to her marriage to him had an affair with Aylmer—an affair that was well-known within Indian society and apparently tolerated by Sir Herbert. . Lady Elsie Julie Aylmer died on 18 July 1934.
World War I
Having been appointed Lieutenant General, he was put in charge of the first effort to end the siege of KutSiege of Kut
The siege of Kut Al Amara , was the besieging of 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Its known also as 1st Battle of Kut. In 1915, its population was around 6,500...
. General Aylmer was in command of the Tigris Corps, consisting of the 7th (Meerut) Division
7th (Meerut) Division
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I.-Pre-Mutiny:The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, KCB...
, the 12th Indian Division
12th Indian Division
For the World War II formation see 12th Indian Infantry DivisionThe 12th Indian Division was formed in March 1915 from units of the British Indian Army. It formed part of the Tigris Corps, for service during the Mesopotamia Campaign of World War I...
, and a number of other smaller military units. All told he had more than 20,000 men. They left Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
in late December 1915 and arrived at Sheikh Sa'ad in 3 January 1916. While the 12th Indian Division (under command of General George Gorringe
GF Gorringe
Lieutenant General Sir George Frederick Gorringe KCB, KCMG, DSO served as an active field commander in the British Army during the Anglo-Boer War, World War I, on the Palestine and Western Fronts.-Early life:...
) made a diversionary move near Nasiriyeh, the 7th (under the command of General Younghusband) staged a direct assault on the Ottoman positions on 6 January (the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad
Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad
The Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad occurred between 6–8 January 1916 during the Mesopotamian Campaign of the First World War. The battle took place along the banks of the Tigris River between the Anglo-Indian Tigris Corps and elements of the Ottoman Sixth Army...
). After two days of fighting, the Ottoman army withdrew. The British sustained approximately 4,000 casualties - much more than the medical units could cope with. The Ottoman troops, under the generalship of Baron von der Goltz
Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz
Wilhelm Leopold Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz also known as Goltz Pasha, was a Prussian Field Marshal and military writer.-Military career:...
only withdrew some six miles up river and occupied another defensive position near the edge of the Suwaikiya Marshes. A British assault on this position on 13 January was partially successful, the position was carried but again with significant losses (some 1,600 casualties) (the Battle of Wadi).
By now, a third division had been added to Aylmer's Tigris Corps, the 3rd (Lahore) Division
3rd (Lahore) Division
The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire.-Pre-Mutiny:The Lahore Division first...
. This new division, along with the weakened 7th Division, attacked Ottoman defensive works at Hanna on 21 January (the Battle of Hanna
Battle of Hanna
The First Battle of Hanna was a World War I battle fought on the Mesopotamian front on 21 January 1916 between Ottoman Army and Anglo-Indian forces.-Prelude:...
). This assault was a complete failure. The Ottoman troops held their trench lines while some 2,700 British soldiers were killed or wounded.
General Aylmer was reinforced with another division, the 13th (Western) Division. The next month was spent resting the troops and probing the Ottoman defensive positions. With time running out on General Townshend
Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend
Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend KCB, DSO was a British Indian Army officer who led the ultimately disastrous first British Expedition against Baghdad during World War I, and was later elected to Parliament....
's garrison in Kut
Kut
Al-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...
, Aylmer finally launched a two pronged attack on the Ottoman positions, one attack at the Sinn Abtar Redoubt, the other attack at the Dujaila Redoubt
Battle of Dujaila
The Battle of Dujaila was fought on 8 March 1916, between British and Ottoman forces during the First World War. The Ottoman forces, led by Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz were besieging Kut, when the Anglo-Indian relief force, led by Lieutenant-General Fenton Aylmer, attempted to relieve the city...
. The attacks were launched on 7 March 1916. Both attacks failed due to lack of initiative and an inability to coordinate the timing of the assaults (they ended up being sequential, not simultaneous). The British lost some 4,000 casualties.
Fenton Aylmer was replaced by the former commander of the 12th Indian division, General George Gorringe
GF Gorringe
Lieutenant General Sir George Frederick Gorringe KCB, KCMG, DSO served as an active field commander in the British Army during the Anglo-Boer War, World War I, on the Palestine and Western Fronts.-Early life:...
. He did not command in battle again, retiring from the army in 1919. However from 1922 till his death he was the Commandant of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
. Following his death in 1935 he was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
where his ashes remain.
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum
Royal Engineers Museum
The Royal Engineers Museum, Library & Archive is a military engineering museum and library in Gillingham, Kent, England. It tells the story of the Corps of Royal Engineers and British military engineering in general.-History:The Library was founded in 1812...
in Chatham, Kent, England.
External links
- Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
- Burial location of Fenton Aylmer "Golders Green Crematorium, London"
- Location of Fenton Aylmer's Victoria Cross "Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham"
- Fenton John Aylmer at Find-A-Grave