# Hugh Rowlands > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hugh_Rowlands > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hugh_Rowlands.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Rowlands > Source revision: 1352107331 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Recipient of the Victoria Cross General Sir Hugh Rowlands VC KCB DL Born (1828-05-06)6 May 1828 Llanrug, Wales Died 1 August 1909(1909-08-01) (aged 81) Llanrug, Wales Buried St Michael's Churchyard, Llanrug Allegiance United Kingdom Branch British Army Rank General Unit 41st (Welsh) Regiment of Foot 34th Regiment of Foot Conflicts Crimean War Anglo-Zulu War Awards Victoria Cross Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Légion d'honneur (France) Order of the Medjidieh (Ottoman Empire) [General](/source/General) **Sir Hugh Rowlands** [VC](/source/Victoria_Cross) [KCB](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath) [DL](/source/Deputy_Lieutenant) (6 May 1828 – 1 August 1909) was a Welsh officer in the [British Army](/source/British_Army) and a recipient of the [Victoria Cross](/source/Victoria_Cross) for courageous action that led to the rescue of Colonel [William O'Grady Haly](/source/William_O'Grady_Haly) during the [Crimean War](/source/Crimean_War).[1] ## Early life Hugh Rowlands was born in the village of Plastirion, [Llanrug](/source/Llanrug). He was the second son of miner and Welsh landowner John Rowlands, heir to the Plastirion estate, and his wife Elizabeth (née Hartwell). His family claimed descent from Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Prince of Powys, and Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd and had resided in the area for almost 200 years.[2] He was educated at Beaumaris Grammar School and Mr John Taylor's Cramming Academy, Woolwich. ## Career Rowlands' grave in [Llanrug](/source/Llanrug) Rowlands entered the military at the age of 21, purchasing a commission as an [Ensign](/source/Ensign_(rank)) in the [41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot](/source/41st_(Welch)_Regiment_of_Foot), [British Army](/source/British_Army).[2][3] Rowlands served in Ireland, Malta and the [Ionian Islands](/source/Ionian_Islands) and was promoted to [captain](/source/Captain_(land_and_air)) in the 41st in September 1854, during the [Crimean War](/source/Crimean_War). He first saw action at the [battle of the Alma](/source/Battle_of_the_Alma) in the same month and was present at Little Inkerman the following month. On 5 November 1854 in the [Crimea](/source/Crimea) at Inkerman, Captain Rowlands and Private [John McDermond](/source/John_McDermond) rescued Colonel [William O'Grady Haly](/source/William_O'Grady_Haly) of the 47th Regiment who had been wounded and surrounded by Russian soldiers. He also acted with great gallantry in holding the ground occupied by his advanced picquet against the enemy at the commencement of the [Battle of Inkerman](/source/Battle_of_Inkerman). For this action he became the first Welshman to be awarded the Victoria Cross. He further distinguished himself during the siege of [Sevastopol](/source/Sevastopol) and was nominated for a Victoria Cross in recognition of his action during the second assault on the [Redan](/source/Redan) in September 1855.[4] After service in the West Indies and India he was a Special Service officer in South Africa in 1878 and 1879. He was appointed Commandant of the Transvaal in 1878 and led an unsuccessful assault on the Pedi stronghold of Chief Sekukuni. He served as a brigadier-general during the later stages of the Zulu War. His latter years of service were spent in India where he commanded the Bangalore Division of the Madras Army and, on two occasions, took temporary command of the Madras Army. Returning to Britain he was appointed [Lieutenant of the Tower of London](/source/Lieutenant_of_the_Tower_of_London) in 1893 and [Commander-in-Chief, Scotland](/source/Commander-in-Chief%2C_Scotland) in 1894 before retiring in 1896.[2] In October 1897 he was appointed [colonel](/source/Colonel_of_the_Regiment#Ceremonial_usage) of the [Duke of Wellington's Regiment](/source/Duke_of_Wellington's_Regiment),[5] which he retained until his death at Plastirion on 1 August 1909.[6][7] ## Further information He later achieved the rank of [General](/source/General). He was born and died in [Llanrug](/source/Llanrug). His VC is on display at the Welch Regiment Museum in [Cardiff Castle](/source/Cardiff_Castle) in Wales. He served as a deputy lieutenant of Caernarfonshire and was a justice of the peace in Caernarfonshire and in the Transvaal. His only son, Major Hugh Barrow Rowlands, Suffolk Regiment and King's African Rifles, died of wounds in Somaliland in 1903. Colonel Rowlands and his officers 41st Regiment 1870 ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Sir Hugh Rowlands VC – victoriacross"](http://www.vconline.org.uk/sir-hugh-rowlands-vc/4588105633.html). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nlw_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nlw_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-nlw_2-2) Williams, Williams Alister. ["Hugh Rowlands"](https://biography.wales/article/s3-ROWL-HUG-1828). *[Dictionary of Welsh Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_Welsh_Biography)*. [National Library of Wales](/source/National_Library_of_Wales). Retrieved 29 November 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["War Office Sept. 25"](https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002044/18490929/038/0007). *Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser*. 29 September 1849. Retrieved 18 September 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["No. 21971"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/21971/page/659). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)*. 24 February 1857. p. 659. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["No. 26913"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/26913/page/6530). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)*. 23 November 1897. p. 6530. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Duke of Wellington's regimental website, Colonels of The Regiment](http://www.dwr.org.uk/dwr.php?id=308) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030302/http://www.dwr.org.uk/dwr.php?id=308) 4 March 2016 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Obituary: General Sir Hugh Rowlands"](https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS152762626/TTDA). *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. No. 39027. London. 2 August 1909. p. 9. Retrieved 27 February 2025 – via The Times Digital Archive. ## Further reading - *[Monuments to Courage](/source/Monuments_to_Courage)* (David Harvey, 1999) - *[The Register of the Victoria Cross](/source/The_Register_of_the_Victoria_Cross)* (This England, 1997) - *Rowlands, VC – the life and career of General Sir Hugh Rowlands, VC, KCB* (W. Alister Williams) - *Commandant of the Transvaal – the life and career of General Sir Hugh Rowlands, VC, KCB* (W. Alister Williams) - *Heart of a Dragon, the VCs of Wales and the Welsh Regiments* Vol 1, 1854-1902 (W. Alister Williams) ## External links - [Location of grave and VC medal](https://web.archive.org/web/20100514213448/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/wales.htm) *(Gwynedd, Wales)* Military offices Preceded by Arthur Lyon Fremantle GOC Scottish District 1894–1896 Succeeded by Edward Chapman v t e Royal Welsh Predecessors 1st generation Royal Welch Fusiliers (1689–2006) South Wales Borderers (1689–1969) 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot (1719–1881) 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot (1756–1881) 2nd generation Welch Regiment (1881–1969) 3rd generation Royal Regiment of Wales (1969–2006) Victoria Cross William Wilson Allan David Bell Gonville Bromhead Edward Stevenson Browne Alexander Cobbe Nevill Coghill William Griffiths Frederick Hitch Alfred Henry Hook Dudley Graham Johnson William Jones Teignmouth Melvill Ivor Rees John Williams John Henry Williams Angus Buchanan James Cooper Campbell Mellis Douglas James Fynn Edric Gifford Robert Jones Thomas Murphy Albert White Ambrose Madden Hugh Rowlands William Charles Fuller Hubert William Lewis Edgar Myles Tasker Watkins Frederick Barter Edward William Derrington Bell John Collins James Llewellyn Davies Joseph John Davies Charles Doughty-Wylie Albert Hill George Monger Luke O'Connor Henry Weale Thomas Bernard Hackett Robert Shields William Henry Thomas Sylvester William Herbert Waring See also Battle of Rorke's Drift Prince of Wales's feathers Men of Harlech Firing Line Prince of Wales' Division Welsh Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hugh Rowlands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Rowlands) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Rowlands?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.