He returned again in 1881 as second-in-command to Maj. Gen. Sir George Colley for the ill-fated Transvaal war (First Boer War). Colley was killed at the Battle of Majuba Hill, and Wood was left with the ignominious task of negotiating peace with the victorious Boers. His return to England this time was not a happy one, since a vituperative press wanted him for a scapegoat. The media campaign proved ineffective, however, and he survived with his reputation intact.

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The year 1882 found him in Egypt commanding the 4th Brigade of Wolseley’s expeditionary force against the insurgents of Arabi Pasha. At the successful conclusion of that campaign, Wood was appointed to create a new Egyptian army, to which end he devoted the next 2 1/4 years. In 1884, he was put in charge of the lines of communication for the expedition to relieve Khartoum and rescue Charles ‘Chinese’ Gordon, but too late — following the fall of Khartoum and the death of Gordon, he was appointed to act as army chief of staff in place of Redvers Buller.

The time abroad again told on his health, and back in England he took more than a year to fully recover. Nonetheless, he still rose steadily, commanding at Colchester and then Aldershot, where he placed a great deal of emphasis on the training methods employed. He became quartermaster general, then adjutant general, and finally general commanding II Army Corps, Southern Command. In 1903 he was awarded the baton of field marshal.

Evelyn Wood ended his army life as colonel of the Blues, a prestigious post he held from 1907 until his death in 1919 at the age of 81, a man certainly cast in the mold of the archetypical officer of the Victorian era. Not everybody liked him, since he could be somewhat less than modest — even Wolseley thought him self-seeking and vain (like many other officers of that time). No one, though, could ever deny his courage, his stoicism under physical suffering, his concern for those who served under him, or his acumen and steadfastness as a commander under fire.

This article was written by Martin J. Hadwen and originally appeared in the April 1994 issue of Military History magazine. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Military History magazine today!

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