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| Name | COLONEL SIR ARTHUR GEORGE HAMMOND VC, KCB, DSO |
| Regiment | - 82nd Foot - 12th ( Kalat-I-Ghilzai ) Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry - Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Punjab Frontier Force ( Infantry ) |
| 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 |
| Family | Son: Major General Arthur Verney Hammond, CB, DSO, Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Indian Army |
| Family | Brother: Colonel Henry Albany Hammond, Madras Staff Corps, Indian Army Nephew: Lieutenant Harry Hammond, Royal Artillery, ( Died of wounds N.W. Frontier, 8 February 1898 ) |
| Service Record |
2nd Lieutenant - 7 June 1861 Lieutenant - 14 May 1862 Captain - 7 June 1873 Major - 7 June 1881 Lt-Colonel - 7 June 1887 Brevet Colonel - 12 February 1890 Colonel - 11 February 1896 |
| Operations | Jowaki Campaign 1877 / 1878 - Capture of Payah & Jammu forcing of the Naru-Kula Pass, Skhakat 1878 |
| Operations | 2nd Afghan War 1878 / 1880 - Takht-I-Shah 1879 - Asmai Heights - 1879 - Charasiah 1880 |
| Operations |
- Hazara ( 3rd Black Mountain ) Expedition 1888 ( Lieutenant Colonel ) - Hazara ( 4th Black Mountain ) Expedition 1891 ( Brigadier General ) - Isazai Expedition - 1892 ( Brigadier General ) - Relief of Chitral - 1895 ( Brigadier General ) - Tirah Campaign - 1897 ( Brigadier General ) |
| Campaign Medal |
India General Service Medal 1854 - 1895 ( 3 clasps ) - Jowaki 1877 - 1878 - Hazara 1888 - Hazara 1891 |
| Campaign Medal |
Afghanistan Medal 1878 - 1880 ( 2 clasps ) - Ali Musjid - Kabul |
| Campaign Medal |
India Medal 1895 - 1902 ( 3 clasps ) - Relief of Chitral 1895 - Punjab Frontier 1897 - 1898 - Tirah 1897 - 1898 |
| Decorations | CB - ( Companion, The Most Honourable Order of the Bath ) - 19 November 1901 KCB ( Knight Commander, The Most Honourable Order of the Bath ) - 1 January 1903 |
| Decorations | DSO ( Companion to the Distinguished Service Order ) |
| DSO Gazetted | [ London Gazette, 12 April 1889 ] Operations of Hazara, Afghanistan, 7 December 1888, Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur George Hammond, Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Punjab Frontier Force "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 ] Koh Asmai Heights, Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 December 1879, Captain Arthur George Hammond, Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Punjab Frontier Force |
| 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 | Lord Ashcroft Gallery, Imperial War Museum, London |
| Medal Entitlement | Colonel Sir Arthur George Hammond VC, KCB, DSO - Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Punjab Frontier Force ( Infantry ), Indian Army
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Iain Stewart, 1 November 2001