Wilbraham Lennox

Lieutenant-General Sir Wilbraham Oates Lennox VC KCB (4 August 1830 – 7 February 1897) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

Lennox was 24 years old, and a lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 20 November 1854 at Sevastopol, in the Crimea, Lieutenant Lennox, with a working party of 100 men entrenched themselves in rifle-pits which had just been captured from the enemy. Despite extreme exposure to attack, they successfully repulsed all attempts to dislodge them during the night. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham, Kent.

Family

Lennox was married twice. The first marriage was to Mary Harriet Harris, and produced two children: Gerald Wilbraham Stuart Lennox, born on 29 April 1862, and Lilian Emily Lennox, born on 19 July 1863. Mrs Lennox died soon after, on 22 July 1863, and her infant daughter died a few days later, on 3 August 1863.

The second marriage was to Susan Hay Sinclair, a descendant of the Sinclair-Lockhart baronets. This Marriage produced a total of five children.

Grave

Lt Gen Lennox is buried in a family plot in Lewes Road (Woodvale) Cemetery, Brighton, Sussex. The Victoria Cross Trust recently launched a campaign, hoping to raise £25,000 to restore his neglected grave.

A spokesman for the Trust said: "The situation today is heartbreaking to see, a man of such historical and national importance totally forgotten by a nation. We believe it is only right to restore the Lennox family plot and allow future generations to pay respect and reverence to a hero of our great nation."