General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast, (15 October 1834 – 24 July 1913) was a British military officer who served with the

Madras Army The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations manda ...

and the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. He 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 members of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and, in imperial times,

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.

Early life

Prendergast was the son of Thomas Prendergast and Caroline Lucy (née Dalrymple). He was educated at

Cheam School Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich. History The school started in Cheam, Surre ...

and then

Brighton College Brighton College is a fee-charging, co-educational, boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton and Hove, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton Co ...

and, in later years, was President of their old boys' association. He also attended

Addiscombe Military Seminary The East India Company Military Seminary was a British military academy at Addiscombe, Surrey, in what is now the London Borough of Croydon. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1861. Its purpose was to train young officers to serve in the East India ...

and the

Royal School of Military Engineering The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) Group provides a wide range of training for the British Army and Defence. This includes; Combat Engineers, Carpenters, Chartered Engineers, Musicians, Band Masters, Sniffer Dogs, Veterinary Techni ...

. He was commissioned in the Madras Engineers of the

in 1854, serving in the Persian War before returning to India in 1857.

Victoria Cross action

Prendergast was 23 years old and a

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 ...

in the

Madras Sappers Madras Engineer Group (MEG), informally known as the Madras Sappers, is an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The Madras Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Madras Presidency army of the British Raj. This ...

, Madras Army during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

when the following deeds took place for which he was awarded the VC: He received his VC from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

at the Quadrangle of

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

on 4 January 1860 along with twenty-four other recipients of the decoration.

Later service

Towards the end of the Indian Rebellion, Prendergast served in the Central Indian campaign, and was invalided home in April 1858 after a serious wound permanently disabled his left arm. He however continued to serve in the Indian Army, and in 1867 was appointed field engineer to the

Abyssinian War The British Expedition to Abyssinia was a rescue mission and punitive expedition carried out in 1868 by the armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire (also known at the time as Abyssinia). Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, t ...

(1867–68), after which he was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel. In 1878 he commanded the Indian engineers sent to Malta and Cyprus at the time of the

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

, followed by a number of posts within India. He was promoted major-general in April 1883. Although only a relatively junior general officer, in October 1885 Prendergast was selected to lead the Burma Field Force in the

Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War (), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance continuing into 1887. It was the final of three wars fought in the 19th century between the Burmese and the Br ...

. He achieved initial success, with

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

occupied on 29 November 1885, and was created a Knight Commander 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 ...

(KCB) in recognition. However, with limited resources at his disposal, the subsequent Burmese insurgency campaign went less well, damaging Prendergast's reputation. Although promoted lieutenant-general (1886) and general (1887), he was offered no further senior commands, and he retired in 1892. In retirement, Prendergast was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list, and was invested by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 8 August 1902. In 1908 he was appointed Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Engineers. He died aged 78 at Heron Court,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Surrey, now in London, on 24 July 1913 and is buried in

Richmond Cemetery Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond, London, Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of Parliame ...

. His recreations were listed as "boxing, fencing, sword-play, running, cricket, football, hunting and polo". There is a bronze memorial tablet to him in Brighton College Chapel, but his sword that used to hang above it was stolen.

Family

Prendergast was married to Emilie Rachael, and had several children: *George William Yelverton Prendergast (ca. 1871–1903; second son), who served in the diplomatic service from 1896. He was British Vice-Consul at Scutari, Albania from May 1901, and for several months acted as

Chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

. He died at

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

on 6 January 1903 aged 31. *Ella Prendergast, who married in 1913 General Sir

Harry Aubrey de Vere Maclean General (United Kingdom), General (Kaïd) Sir Harry Aubrey de Vere Maclean, (15 June 1848 – 5 February 1920) was a Scottish soldier, and instructor to the Moroccan Army. Military career Maclean was born on 15 June 1848, the eldest son of Ge ...

The medal

In the 1980s the medal, on loan from the Prendergast family to 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 ...

was suggested to be a copy. However, a subsequent 2020 study of its metal composition demonstrated it was an unusually close match to other Victoria Crosses, and in particular those dated to the same year, suggesting it was in fact genuine. The medal is currently displayed at the

Royal Engineers Museum The Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive is a military engineering museum and library in Gillingham, Kent. It tells the story of the Corps of Royal Engineers and British military engineering in general. History The museum is housed in ...

Chatham, England Chatham ( ) is a town within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. In 2020 it had a population of 80,596. The ...

References

Sources

*Colonel H M Vibart, The Life of General Sir Harry N D Prendergast, RE, VC, GCB (The Happy Warrior). (Eveleigh Nash, London, 1914) * Martin D W Jones, 'The War of Lost Footsteps. A Re-assessment of the Third Burmese War 1885–1896.', The Bulletin of the Military Historical Society, xxxx no. 157 (August 1989), pp. 36–40 *

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) *

The Sapper VCs The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

(Gerald Napier, 1998) *

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)

External links

Royal Engineers Museum
Sappers VCs

''(Surrey)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Prendergast, Harry 1834 births 1913 deaths British Army generals British East India Company Army officers British Indian Army generals British military personnel of the Abyssinian War British military personnel of the Anglo-Persian War British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War British recipients of the Victoria Cross Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath People educated at Brighton College Military personnel from Chennai Royal Engineers officers Graduates of Addiscombe Military Seminary Burials at Richmond Cemetery