Cyril Holland (born Cyril Wilde, 5 June 1885 – 9 May 1915) was the older of the two sons of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

and

Constance Lloyd Constance Mary Wilde (; 2 January 18587 April 1898) was an Irish writer. She was the wife of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and the mother of their two sons, Cyril Holland, Cyril and Vyvyan Holland, Vyvyan. Early life and marriage The daughter ...

and brother to

Vyvyan Holland Vyvyan Beresford Holland, (born Vyvyan Oscar Beresford Wilde; 3 November 1886 – 10 October 1967) was an English author and translator. He was the second-born son of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and Constance Lloyd, and had a brother, Cyril. ...

Life

According to his brother Vyvyan Holland's accounts in his autobiography, ''Son of Oscar Wilde'' (1954), Oscar was a devoted and loving father to his two sons. Their childhood was a relatively happy one. However, after Wilde's well-publicized trials in Britain, conviction in 1895, and imprisonment for gross indecency, their mother Constance took their children to Europe. She began using the surname Holland for both the boys and herself in order to protect them from public scrutiny. She relocated with the boys to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and enrolled them at Neuenheim College, an English-speaking boarding school in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Oscar Wilde died in 1900; neither of his sons saw him again after he went to prison. When he was released, he went to France and never lived in the UK again. From 1899 to 1903 Cyril attended

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley or the College of St. Peter at Radley, is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent boarding school) for boys near the village of Radley, in Oxfordshire, in the United Kingd ...

, a private school then in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. After ending school, he became a gentleman cadet at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

. Holland was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

, on 20 December 1905. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 20 December 1908 and served in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for nearly three years. He was posted to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where he served from September 1911 until 1914 with No. 9 Ammunition Column, RFA at

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 30 October 1914.

Death

When the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began, Captain Holland was posted to British forces on the Continent. He participated in the battle for Neuve-Chapelle, where he was killed in France by a German

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

on 9 May 1915, during the

Battle of Festubert The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. The offensive formed part of a series of attacks by the French Tenth Army and the British ...

.TomFolio.com: Introduction, Wilde, Oscar. ''An Ideal Husband,'' H.A.S. Beane Books
/ref>CWGC :: Casualty Details
Commonwealth War Graves Commission His grave is maintained by the War Graves Commission in St Vaast Post Military Cemetery,

Richebourg-l'Avoué Richebourg-l'Avoué is a village and former commune in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. It was merged with Richebourg-Saint-Vaast to form the commune of Richebourg on 21 February 1971. The village was the site of the Attack on the Boar's ...

, France.

References

External links

Wilde children
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Cyril 1885 births 1915 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I English people of Irish descent Oscar Wilde Place of birth missing People educated at Radley College Royal Field Artillery officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Deaths by firearm in France