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| Name | COLONEL SIR ARTHUR GEORGE HAMMOND VC, KCB, DSO |
| Regiment | - 82nd Regiment - 12th ( Kalat-I-Ghilzai ) Native Infantry - Bengal Staff Corps / Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides, Indian Army |
| Born | 28 September 1843, Cleveland House, High Street, Dawlish, Devon |
| Educated | - King's ( Edward VI ) School, Sherbourne, Dorset - Addiscombe Military College, January - August 1861 |
| Died | 20 April 1919, aged 75, Sherbourne House, Camberley, Surrey |
| Buried | St Michael's Churchyard, Camberley, Surrey |
| Parents | Major Thomas John Hammond, HEIC ( Madras Army ) & Anne ( neé Warren ) |
| Family | Married: Edith Jane Wright, 2 June 1886, St George's, Campden Hill, London ( daughter of Major. H.J. Wright, Madras Staff Corps, Indian Army ) |
| Family | Daughters: Edith Amber; Veronica Ruth; Son: Arthur Verney |
| Family | Brother: Colonel Henry Albany Hammond, Madras Staff Corps, Indian Army Nephew: Lieutenant Harry Hammond, RA, ( killed in action, N.W. Frontier, Jan 1898 ) |
| Service Record |
2nd Lieutenant - 1861 Lieutenant - 1862 Captain - 1873 Major - 1881 Lt-Colonel - 1887 Colonel - 1890 T / Brigadier General - 1891 |
| Operations | Jowaki Campaign 1877 / 1878 - Capture of Payah & Jammu forcing of the Naru-Kula Pass, Skhakat 1878 |
| Operations | Afghan War 1878 / 1880 - Takht-I-Shah 1879 - Asmai Heights - 1879 - Charasiah 1880 |
| Operations |
- Hazara Campaign 1888 - Hazara Campaign 1891 - Isazai Expedition - 1892 - Relief of Chitral - 1895 - Tirah Campaign - 1897 / 1898 |
| Campaign Medal |
India General Service Medal 1854 - 1895 (4 clasps) - NW Frontier - Jowaki 1877 - 1878 - Hazara 1888 - Hazara 1891 |
| Campaign Medal |
Afghanistan Medal 1878 - 1880 (2 clasps) - Kabul - Charasia |
| Campaign Medal |
India Medal 1895 - 1902 (3 clasps) - Relief of Chitral 1895 - Punjab Frontier 1897 - 1898 - Tirah Campaign 1897 - 1898 |
| Decorations | KCB ( Knight Commander, The Most Honourable Order of the Bath ) - 1903 |
| Decorations | DSO ( Companion to the Distinguished Servicer Order ) |
| Gazetted | [ London Gazette, 12 April 1889 ] Operations of Hazara, Afghanistan, 7 December 1888, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur George Hammond, Bengal Staff Corps & Corps of Guides "For service during operations of Hazara" |
| Gallantry Awards |
Victoria Cross 14 December 1879 Asmai Heights, Kabul, Afghanistan |
| VC Invested | 1st December 1881 by HM Queen Victoria, Windsor Castle |
| VC Gazetted | [ London Gazette, 18 October 1881 ] Asmai Heights, Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 December 1879, Captain Arthur George Hammond, Bengal Staff Corps & Corps of Guides |
| VC Citation | "At the action on the Asmai Heights near Kabul on 14th December 1879, Captain Hammond defended the top of the hill with a rifle and fixed bayonet against a large number of the enemy while the 72nd Highlanders and Guides were retiring. Again on the retreat down the hill he stopped and helped carry a wounded sepoy, the enemy being only 60 yards off and firing heavily all the time". |
| Observation | The most dangerous time for British Forces in Afghanistan was when retiring downhill following confrontation with the Afghans high in the mountains. Therefore, Arthur Hammond's act in turning and facing a huge number of the Afghans alone, armed only with a rifle and bayonet while his fellow soldiers retired, was a high act of gallantry, having to retire himself at some point of course. This he did later, rescuing on the way a seriously wounded sepoy. |
| VC Location | Privately held |
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Iain Stewart, 1 November 2001