1899, Battle of Colenso
ROBERTS, THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK SHERSTON, Lieutenant, was born at Umballa, India, 8 January 1872. He entered the King's Royal Rifle Corps on 10 June 1891, and during the four following years was on active service on the North-West Frontier of India, including Chitral, receiving the Medals and clasps and being mentioned in Despatches. He served in the Boer War of 1899-1902, and lost his life at the Battle of Colenso in an attempt (described in the account of Captain Congreve) to save the guns of the 14th and 66th Batteries, RFA, which had dashed forward, far in advance of their flank supports, and opened fire on the Boer position. Without shelter of any description, and in full view of a strongly entrenched enemy, they became the object of a fearful storm of bullets and shells, which tore the horses to pieces and strewed the gunners on the ground around the guns. At last there were hardly enough men left to serve the guns, and it seemed impossible to bring relief from the donga five hundred yards to the rear. Soon the batteries had no one to serve them, and they were abandoned. But Colonel Long had said as they removed him from the gun by which he had fallen, "Abandon be damned! We don't abandon guns". Others were of the same opinion, and Lieutenant Roberts was one of those who answered General Buller's appeal for volunteers, and was mortally wounded in trying to save a gun, which was presented to Lord Roberts by the War Office authorities. On it, years afterwards, the great soldier's coffin was carried at his funeral. The following is an extract from a letter written by an officer at this time to a friend: "I was galloper to General Clery, who rode all day with Sir Redvers Buller. About ten o'clock two batteries, which had advanced too close, ran short of ammunition. Their limbers were about 800 yards behind. Horses and men were sheltering in a deep narrow nullah. General Buller told them to take the limbers up to the battery, but directly they emerged a storm of bullets and shells fell all around ... Generals Clery and Buller stood out in it, and said, 'Some of you go and help'. Schofield (ADC), Roberts (Lord Roberts's son) and myself, with the help of a corporal and six gunners, went to the limbers, and got two of them horsed. I have never seen, even at field firing, the bullets fly thicker. All one could see was little tufts of dust all over the ground, a whistling noise — 'phux', where they hit, and an increasing rattle of musketry, somewhere in front. My first bullet went through my left sleeve, and just made the joint of my elbow bleed, next a clod of earth caught me smack on the right arm; then my horse got one, then my right leg one, my horse another, and that settled us, for he plunged, and I fell about a hundred yards short of the guns we were going to". The fury of that leaden storm can be imagined from the fact that one gunner was found with sixty-four wounds in his body. In the meantime Captain Reed, of the 7th Battery, had arrived with three spare teams of horses, and he made another desperate effort to save the remaining guns, but five of his thirteen men were hit and one killed, and thirteen out of his twenty-one horses killed before he could get half-way to the guns. For his gallantry on this occasion he was afterwards awarded the Victoria Cross, as were Schofield, Congreve and Roberts. The Honourable Frederick Roberts's Victoria Cross was gazetted 2 January 1900: "The Honourable Frederick Sherston Roberts (since deceased), Lieutenant, King's Royal Rifle Corps. At Colenso, on the 15th December 1899, the detachments serving the guns of the 14th and 66th Batteries, Royal Field Artillery, had all been either killed, wounded, or driven from their guns by infantry fire at close range, and the guns were deserted. About 5OO yards behind the lines was a donga, in which some of the few horses and drivers left alive were sheltered. The intervening space was swept with shell and rifle fire. Captain Congreve, Rifle Brigade, who was in the donga, assisted to hook a team into a limber, went out, and assisted to limber up a gun. Being wounded, he took shelter; but seeing Lieutenant Roberts fall badly wounded, he went out again and brought him in. With him went the gallant Major Babtie, of the RAMC, who had ridden across the donga amid a hail of bullets, and had done what he could for the wounded men. Captain Congreve was shot through the leg, through the toe of his boot, grazed on the elbow and the shoulder, and his horse shot in three places. Lieutenant Roberts assisted Captain Congreve. He was wounded in three places".
There is a memorial to him in Winchester Cathedral and in the chapel at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
VC, IGS 1854 (1) Clasp Waziristan 1894-95, IGS 1895 (1) Relief of Chitral, Queen's Sudan, QSA (2) RofL, Nat, with raised dates, 1897 Jubilee Medal, Turkey Order of the Medjidie (4th class), Khedive's Sudan Medal.
See his casualty entry. See the entry on raised date QSAs.
