Major General Euston Henry Sartorius (6 June 1844 – 19 February 1925) was a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

(VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. His brother Reginald was also awarded the VC.

Life

Sartorius was educated at

Victoria College, Jersey Victoria College is a Government of Jersey, Government-run, Independent school, fee-paying, academically selective day school

, then the

Royal Naval School The Royal Naval School was an English school that was established in Camberwell, London, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. lxxxvi). It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons ...

, New Cross. He then decided on an army career and attended 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 ...

, followed by the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. In 1862 he joined the

59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot The 59th Quartermaster Company is a bulk petroleum company designed to provide semi-portable storage for of fuel and to provide distribution of fuel to military units within a specified geographic area while deployed overseas. Its secondary missi ...

as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

. In June 1869 at

Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...

he rescued three girls from drowning, for which he received the Bronze Medal of the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near drowning. Hi ...

.History of the Victoria Cross
/ref> In the 1870s, he spent four years as military surveying instructor at Sandhurst, and then travelled for a year overland, via Persia, to India to rejoin his regiment. When the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

(1878–80) broke out, the 59th Foot formed part of the southern Afghanistan Field Force, serving in and around

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

. In October 1879 Sartorius was part of a British advance upon a large Ghilzais force assembling at Shahjui. Under fire from British artillery, the Ghilzais retreated, taking refuge in an old hill-top fort. Sartorius won his VC for leading a small force that captured this fort.

VC action

Sartorius was a 35 year old

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 ...

in the

(later The East Lancashire Regiment),

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, during the

when the following deed took place on 24 October 1879 at Shahjui,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

for which he was awarded the VC: For his Afghan service, he was also made brevet major, and twice

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

Later career

Due to wounds received during his VC action, Sartorius partially lost the use of his left hand. Unable to continue as an active field officer, he was appointed to a staff post at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

. In the

1882 Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It e ...

he was made deputy assistant adjutant-general and quartermaster-general, responsible for base and communications. For this, he was made brevet lieutenant-colonel, mentioned in dispatches, and received the fourth-class

Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh (, Modern ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i Iftikhar, this became the second highest order ...

. He became a colonel in 1886, and was assistant adjutant-general in Portsmouth from 1891 to 1894. In 1896 he was made a companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

, and went to Japan as

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

. After promotion to major general in 1899, he retired in August 1901 but continued as colonel of the

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

in November 1909, taking over from Major General Sir Frederick Solly-Flood. In retirement he lived at

Holmbury St Mary Holmbury St Mary is a village in Surrey, England centered on shallow upper slopes of the Greensand Ridge. Its developed area is a nucleated village, southwest of Dorking and southeast of Guildford. Most of the village is in the borough of Gui ...

, Surrey, and in London. Following a short illness he died at his residence in Chelsea, London, on 19 February 1925. He was buried at St Peter and St Paul's Churchyard,

Ewhurst, Surrey Ewhurst is a rural village and civil parish in the borough of Waverley in Surrey, England. It is located south-east of Guildford, east of Cranleigh, and south of Shere. The parish includes the smaller hamlets of Ellen's Green and Cox Green ...

Family

His father was Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rose Sartorius. He had two elder brothers, both of whom also entered the army: George Conrad Sartorius, who retired as a colonel, and Major General Reginald William Sartorius, who was also awarded the VC. One of Victoria College Jersey's five

Houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

was later named 'Sartorius' after the three brothers, all of whom attended the school. He succeeded his father as Count of Penhafirme in the Portuguese nobility, and was confirmed in the title by King Carlos I on 20 June 1903. On 22 December 1874 he married Emily Jane, daughter of Sir

Francis Cook, 1st Viscount of Monserrate Sir Francis Cook, 1st Baronet, 1st Viscount Monserrate (23 January 1817 – 17 February 1901) was a British merchant and art collector. Early life Cook was born on 23 January 1817 in Clapham, London. He was the son of William Cook and Mary Ann ( ...

; their son Euston Francis Frederick Sartorius was born in 1882 and served in the Grenadier Guards. Marquis of Ruvigny, ''The Nobilities of Europe'' (London, 1909
pp. 14–15

The medal

His Victoria Cross is held by the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bod ...

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

References

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a British historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the f ...

(This England, 1997)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Surrey)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sartorius, Euston Henry 1844 births 1925 deaths Burials in Surrey Military attachés for the United Kingdom British recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army major generals Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Victoria College, Jersey Victoria Cross recipients from Jersey East Lancashire Regiment officers 59th Regiment of Foot officers Second Anglo-Afghan War recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Counts of Portugal 20th-century British Army personnel