[199] Lately Commanding a district in the United Kingdom.
[200] Lord Chelmsford to the Secretary of State for War:—
“Entonjaneni, 7th July 1879.
“I cannot refrain from bringing again to your special notice the names of Brigadier-General Evelyn Wood, V.C., C.B.,... whose service during the advance towards Ulundi from the advanced Base, and during the recent successful operations near Ulundi, have been invaluable.
“Brigadier-General Wood, although suffering at times severely in bodily health, has never spared himself, but has laboured incessantly night and day to overcome the innumerable difficulties which have had to be encountered during the advance through a country possessing no roads.”
[201] My Zulu name.
[202] Much has since been done in this direction. The parents of soldiers wounded on service are now relieved from painful anxiety by weekly telegraphic reports.
[203] Lord Penzance’s Royal Commission on Army Promotion. August 1876.
[204] Military Life of H.R.H. Duke of Cambridge, by Colonel Willoughby Verner, page 62: “I intend to send Brigadier Wood, he being the best Commander of those in South Africa. His name is in every one’s mouth, from Bugler up through all Ranks, as the man of the War....”
[205] See [page 405], and
Despatch from Lieutenant-General Thesiger to the Secretary of State for War:—
“King William’s Town, June 26th, 1878.
“I am of opinion that his (Colonel Evelyn Wood) indefatigable exertions and personal influence have been mainly instrumental in bringing the war to a speedy close.”