Henry Francis Brooke

1836 - 1880  (44 years)

• Name	Henry Francis Brooke  [1, 2]
  Birth	03 Aug 1836	Fermanagh   [3]
  Marriage	11 Mar 1865	[3]
  	Ann Isabella Christopher,   b. abt 1847, NW Province, India ,   d. 26 Aug 1927, Fareham
  Occupation	- 1880	Brigadier-General, Indian Army  [1, 2]
  	late 109th Regmt., adjt. gen. Bombay.
  Death	16 Aug 1880	Kandahar, Afghanistan ; Cause: Killed in action  [1, 2]
  	during sortie from Kandahar
  Burial	14 Dec 1880	St Ronan, Colebrooke   [4]
  	The late General Brooke (from our correspondent). On Monday the remains of the late General Brooke, which had been brought home from Candahar in the Serapia, arrived at Lisnaskea Railway Station, to be interred in the Brooke family vault at Colebrooke. The coffin was brought from England by Captain Arthur Brooke. On the evening of its arrival at Lisnaskea it lay there in the entrance hall, where it was visited by Mrs Brooke and the children of the late Genaral Brooke, who placed wreaths of white flowers on the coffin. Mrs Hall, of Narrowwater Castle, Warrenpoint, also placed a wreath entwined with sprays of a fern sent home by General Brooke from the Bulan Pass. Lady Arabella Brooke, Lady Hume, and Mrs Frank Brooke also placed wreaths on the coffin. On Tuesday the body was conveyed to the family vault at Colebrooke. The coffin was carried by men at the 94th Regiment, under the command at Captain Lionel Brooke, and was covered with the Union Jack. The chief mourners were ? George Cecil Brooke, Esq., son of deceased; Captain Arthur Brooke, Royal Navy; Captain Hastings Brooke, Captain Lionel Brooke, 94th Regiment, and Frank Brooke, Esq., brothers of deceased, and Major Hall, Narrowwater Castle, Warrenpoint, brother-in-law. Amongst those present at the funeral were - Viscount Cole, M.P.; Viscount Crichton, M.P.; Lieutenant Campbell, 94th Regiment; Lieutenant M?Lean, 94th Regiment; Captain Termon and Lieutenant Bradshaw, Armagh Militia ; George Brooke, Esq.; Frederick Wrench, Esq.; John C. Bloomfield, Esq.; Surgeon-Major Walsh, Enniskillen; Major Ellis, Omagh; Charles Richardson, Esq. Five hundred of the Colebrooke tenantry also followed the remains to the grave. The deepest sorrow was shown by all for the loss of one who was known and beloved by all, and who died so gallantly trying to rescue a brother officer - Captain Cruikshank. During the day a telegram was received by Lady Arabella Brooke from the Dowager Marchioness of Ely, expressing the sincere sympathy of her Majesty the Queen with her and Mrs Brooke in their great sorrow. The coffin, made in Bombay, of teak, bore the following inscription - "Brigadier-General H. F. Brooke, born 3rd August, 1836, killed in action, Candahar, Southern Afghanistan, 16th August, 1880, aged 44 years." [Irish Times, 16 December 1880] Here lies the body of Brigadier General Henry Francis Brooke eldest son of the late George Frederick Brooke of Ashbrooke and of the Lady Arabella Brooke born 3rd August 1836 - killed in Action on the 16th August 1880 aged 44. He fell while commanding the sortie against the village of Deh Khoja during the siege of Kandahar South Afghanistan in the noble endeavour to save the life of a wounded brother officer Captain Cruikshank R.E. Greater Love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friend. [Clive Robinson]
  Notes	Private Journal of Henry Francis Brooke, Late Brigadier-General Commanding 2nd Infantry Brigade, Kandahar Field Force, Southern Afghanistan, From April 22nd to August 16th, 1880. Dublin, W. Curwen, 1881. Republished as "Brigade Commander Afghanistan", Leonaur / Oakpast Ltd, 2008. The siege of Kandahar. The remnants of the straggling column reached Kandahar on the 28th raising the garrison numbers to 4360 - the Afghan population of 12,000 were compelled to leave. With the abandonment of the cantonments, the whole garrison withdrew behind the walls of the fortified city and organized preparations for its defence. These defences included improving and facilitating communications along the city's walls, plugging breaches, constructing gun platforms and the laying of wire obstacles outside the walls to entangle their foe. The Afghans determined to harass and hinder the defenders' preparations throughout. On 8 August, Ayub Khan, the victor at Maiwand, opened fire on the citadel from Picquet hill north west of the city; a few days later other guns volleyed forth from the villages of Deh Khoja and Deh Khati on the east and south. An attempt to neutralize the village of Deh Khoja, led by Brigadier General Brooke on the 16th, proved unsuccessful. During the extrication, both Brigadier General Brooke and Captain Cruickshank fell, adding to the casualty total of over 100. To the Editor, The Irish Times: Safety of Irish troops in Afghanistan. Madam, While wishing President Obama every chance of success in his efforts to turn around intractable global issues, the war in Afghanistan is a folly we in Ireland would do well to distance ourselves from. Our contribution to the rebuilding of that country should be of an entirely non-military nature and I call for the withdrawal of our forces from the Nato-led alliance (World News, August 19th). Irish soldiers have fought and died in Afghanistan before and for no meaningful goal. My own ancestor, Henry Brooke from Co Fermanagh, was killed at Kandahar on August 16th, 1880 aged 44. Before he died, he wrote in his diary, "I oppose our forward policy in Afghanistan. They (the Afghans) are a very war-like people and prefer tyranny and misgovernment from their own kind to order after the English fashion". Given the limited perspective and vision of his time, I think these words still have a ring of truth about them that we would be wise to remember, at a time of the 129th anniversary of his death. Yours, etc, Roger Phillimore, Convent Road, Kinvara, Co Galway. [Irish Times, 29 Aug 2009]
  Person ID	I2631	Tatham | Christopher branch | Spouse
  Last Modified	07 Oct 2019

  
  

  Father	George Augustus Frederick Brooke,   b. 1805, Fermanagh ,   d. 20 Feb 1874, Fermanagh  (Age 69 years)
  Mother	Arabella Georgiana Hastings,   b. 1811,   d. aft 1890  (Age 80 years)
  Marriage	25 Apr 1833	[2]
  Family ID	F0692	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Ann Isabella Christopher,   b. abt 1847, NW Province, India ,   d. 26 Aug 1927, Fareham  (Age ~ 80 years)
  Marriage	11 Mar 1865	[3]
  Children	+ 1. Mabel Alice Brooke,   b. abt 1868, Nice, France ,   d. 18 Dec 1954, Droxford  (Age ~ 86 years)   2. Violet Florence Brooke,   b. abt 1869, Brookeborough, Fermanagh ,   d. 28 Apr 1936, Hill House, Hambledon, Hants  (Age ~ 67 years) + 3. George Cecil Brooke,   b. 30 Dec 1870, Lisnaskea ,   d. 28 Apr 1915, Gallipoli, Turkey  (Age 44 years)   4. Sybil Mary Brooke,   b. abt 1873, India ,   d. 05 Jul 1898, Kingston-upon-Thames  (Age ~ 25 years)
  Family ID	F0674	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S01] Census, UK, 1881. wife widowed [S08] Family Trees & Websites, camilla-genealogy. TMC Families website accessed 23 Feb 2009 [S13] thePeerage.com. [S11] Newspaper, Irish Times, 16 Dec 1880.