Colonel W.N. Lloyd, Royal Horse Artillery

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The 'Great War' C.B., C.V.O. Group of Eleven to Colonel W.N. Lloyd, Royal Horse Artillery, Mentioned in Despatches for the Action at Inyezane, 22.1.1879, Where He Commanded the Guns, and Also for His Part During the Two Month Siege of Eshowe During the Zulu War; Following Service in Egypt and the Sudan He Presented the Mahdi's Captured Standard to Queen Victoria
a) The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Military Division, Companion's (C.B.) neck Badge, 50mm, silver-gilt and enamel
b) The Royal Victorian Order, Commander's (C.V.O.) neck Badge, 50mm, silver-gilt and enamel, reverse officially numbered 'C861'
c) South Africa 1877-79, one clasp, 1877-8-9 (Lieut: W.N. Lloyd. 7th. Bde. R.A.)
d) Egypt 1882-89, undated, one clasp, El-Teb (Lieut: W.N. Lloyd. R.H.A.)
e) India General Service 1854-95, one clasp, Burma 1885-7 (... W.N. Lloyd. Rl. Arty.)
f) Coronation1902
g) Coronation1911
h) Territorial Decoration, G.V.R., silver and silver-gilt (Hallmarks for London 1920), with integral top riband bar
i) Order of the League of Mercy, 1st '1898' type, silver-gilt and enamel
j) Spain, Kingdom, Order of Isabella the Catholic, Knight's breast Badge, 61mm including wreath suspension x 43mm, silver-gilt and enamel, lacking reverse central medallion
k) Khedive's Star 1884, heavy contact marks to the I.G.S., otherwise generally very fine or better, mounted in a glazed display case, with the recipient's four 19th Century miniature awards (11)

C.B. London Gazette 3.6.1918 Hon. Col. Wilfred [sic] Neville Lloyd, M.V.O., R.F.A. (Maj., ret. pay)'For services in connection with the War.'
C.V.O. London Gazette 3.6.1927 Colonel Wilford Neville Lloyd, C.B., M.V.O.
M.V.O. IV Class London Gazette 26.5.1908 Major Wilford Neville Lloyd (late Royal Artillery), of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms
Dated 14.5.1908 for His Majesty's visit to Eaton Hall, Cheshire.

Colonel Wilford Neville Lloyd, C.B., C.V.O., T.D. (1855-1935), educated at Uppingham and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, where he Captained the Cricket XI; Commissioned Lieutenant, Royal Artillery, February 1876; served in South Africa and in the Zulu War 1877-79, and present at the action at Inyezane, the defence of Eshowe, and the destruction of Dabulamarzi's Kraal (Mentioned in Despatches, London Gazette 5.3.1879 and 16.5.1879).
Action at Inyezane

On the morning of the 22nd January 1879, No.1 Column, under the Command of Colonel C.K. Pearson, crossed the Inyezane River, prior to stopping for breakfast, and to feed and rest the oxen. At 8:00 a.m., as Colonel Pearson was giving orders about the pickets and scouts required, and as the wagons were being unloaded, the leading company of the Native Contingent, who were scouting in front, discovered the enemy advancing rapidly over the ridges to the front of the British position, and making for the bushes on either side. The Zulus at once opened a heavy fire on the men of the company who had shown themselves in the open, with the loss to the scouting party of one officer and seven men killed. As soon as the firing began, Colonel Pearson ordered the Naval Brigade, under Commander Campbell; the Division of Guns under Lieutenant Lloyd; and the Companies of the East Kent Regiment under the commands of Captain Jackson and Lieutenant Martin, to take up a position on a knoll close by the road, from where the whole of the Zulu advances could be seen and dealt with. With all the wagons now parked, and the length of the column sufficiently decreased, Colonel Pearson ordered two Companies of the East Kent Regiment, under the commands of Captain Harrison and Captain Wyld, and guided by Captain MacGregor, D.A.Q.M.G., to drive the approaching Zulus back into the open, thus exposing the enemy to the rockets, shells, and musketry from the knoll. This movement released the main body of the Mounted Infantry and Volunteers, who, with the Royal Engineers, had remained near the River Inyezane, to protect that section of the convoy of wagons. When thus released, both the Royal Engineers and the Mounted Troops moved forward with the infantry. At this stage the enemy was observed by Commander Campbell to be trying to outflank the British left, and he led a party from the Naval Brigade to drive away a body of Zulus who had got possession of a kraal about 400 yards from the knoll, and which was helping their turning movement. The Naval Brigade was supported by a party of the officers and non-commissioned officers of the Native Contingent under Captain Hart. With the krall taken, the Naval Brigade, together with Colonel Parnell's company of the Buffs, attacked the heights beyond the kraal, upon which a considerable body of Zulus were still posted. The action was a complete success, and the Zulus fled in every direction. 'The practice made by Lieutenant Lloyd's guns, and by the rockets of the Naval Brigade, directed by Mr. Cotter, boatswain of H.M.S. Active, was excellent, and no doubt contributed materially to the success of the day.' (Colonel Pearson's despatch, dated 23.1.1879, refers). British casualties were 10 killed and 16 wounded. Zulu casualties were estimated at 300 killed out of a total force of about 4,000. The action was over by 9:30 a.m., and the stage was set for the rest of the day's events: the catastrophic defeat at Isandlwana, and the heroic defence of Rorke's Drift.

Defence of Eshowe
With the River Inyezane successfully crossed, Colonel Pearson led the No.1 Column to the mission station at Eshowe, which was to become an important Commissariat Depot, arriving on the 23rd January. The following day news reached Pearson that No.2 Column, under the command of Colonel Durnford, had been wiped out, resulting in No.1 Column being dangerously exposed. Colonel Pearson immediately ordered that the position was to be entrenched, under the direction of Captain Wynne, Royal Engineers. The fort enclosing the mission was roughly rectangular, 200 yards long and 50 yards wide, with loopholed walls 6 feet high, and was surrounded by a broad ditch in which sharpened sticks were embedded. A second line of defence, should the outer rampart fall, was formed by laagering the wagons inside the walls. A horse and cattle kraal was constructed, as was an abattis, and a field of fire was cleared all round out to 800 yards. The garrison numbered 1,300 men, plus 400 waggoner's. The appearance of large numbers of Zulus on the surrounding hills on the 2nd February, although they retreated under shelling from the 7-pounders, compelled Colonel Pearson to request reinforcements. A week later, he learned for the first time the full extent of the centre column's defeat at Isandlwana and was told that no reinforcements could be made. Eshowe was now completely cut off, and the increasing numbers of Zulus in the area were waiting either to intercept the relief of Eshowe, or the retreat from Eshowe. Most unaccountably no attempt was ever made at night to capture the cattle or raid the Fort, and the only action was a few sniping attacks and skirmishes between patrols. In early March, in order to boost morale, and to keep the men occupied, Colonel Pearson ordered an attack on Dabulamarzi's Kraal, approximately seven miles away, which was a complete success. On the 3rd April, with rations running low and sickness having killed 20 men, the relief column entered Eshowe, led by the pipers of the 91st Highlanders. The two-month siege having been lifted, Lord Chelmsford concluded that Eshowe did not need to be retained, and instead a fortified post on the coast road would be established. Throughout the two month siege, '...without exception, no officer, non-commissioned officer, or private behaved otherwise than with credit to the British Army. From first to last, the men showed an excellent spirit, the highest discipline was maintained, and the reduction of the food was never grumbled at or regarded in any other light than a necessity and a privation to be borne, and which they were determined cheerfully. The several Commanding Officers, Commander Campbell, Royal Navy, Lieutenant Lloyd, Royal Artillery, Captain Wynne, Royal Engineers, Lieutenant-Colonel Parnell, the Buffs, and Colonel Welman, 99th Regiment, with their officers, are entitled to full credit for the good discipline and cheerful spirit of their men.' (Colonel Pearson's despatch, dated 9.4.1879, refers). Total British casualties for the siege were 44 men killed, and approximately 100 died of disease; the Zulu dead was estimated at 1,300.

Lieutenant Lloyd returned to Britain in October 1879; Appointed temporary Resident Magistrate in Ireland during the disturbances over the Home Rule Bill, 1882; served in Egypt and the Sudan, 1884, afterwards presenting the Mahdi's captured standard to Queen Victoria at Windsor (Who's Who entry refers); Captain, November 1884; served during the operations in Burma 1885-6 (Mentioned in Despatches, London Gazette 2.9.1887); Major, March 1893; retired, May 1896; Appointed to Her Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, January 1899; Lieutenant-Colonel and Commanding Officer, 1st Cheshire and Carnarvonshire, Royal Garrison Artillery, Volunteer Corps, 6.6.1900; Honorary Colonel, 18.7.1906; Assistant Quarter Master General, Head Quarters Southern Command, 1915-17; Assistant to Major-General in charge of Administration, Eastern Command, 1917-18 (Mentioned in Despatches, London Gazette 7.10.1918); Appointed Clerk of the Cheque and Adjutant, His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, 27.10.1925; Standard Bearer, His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, 8.1.1926. Colonel Lloyd married Ella Margaret Cust, the daughter of the Very Reverend Arthur Perceval Purey Cust, Dean of York, and the niece of Ensign George Frederick Cust, July 1891; they had two children, Captain Sir Humphrey Clifford Lloyd, K.C.V.O., M.C.; and Katherine Victoria Lloyd.