Edmund Hartley
{{Short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1847–1919)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Edmund Hartley
| honorific_suffix =
| birth_date = 6 May 1847
| death_date = 20 March 1919
| image = Edmund Hartley VC.jpg
| birth_place = Ivybridge, Devon
| death_place = Ash, Surrey
| placeofburial = Brookwood Cemetery
| placeofburial_coordinates = {{coord|51.299786|-0.627923|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| allegiance = {{UK}}
| branch = Cape Colonial Forces
| serviceyears = 1877–1902
| rank = Colonel
| unit = Cape Mounted Riflemen
| commands =
| battles = Morosi's Mountain 1879 Campaign
Basuto Gun War
Second Boer War
| awards = Victoria Cross
Order of St Michael and St George
| relations =
}}
Colonel Edmund Baron Hartley VC CMG (6 May 1847 – 20 March 1919{{cite journal | title=British Medical Journal – April 19, 1919 | pmc=2341123 | page=505 | volume=1 | issue=3042 | journal=Br Med J | year=1919 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.1.3042.505-b}}) was a 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.
Early life
Hartley was born in Ivybridge, Devon, England, on 6 May 1847.[http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/brookwoo.htm Grave location for holders of the Victoria Cross in: Brookwood cemetery, Woking, Surrey] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041028141357/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/brookwoo.htm |date=28 October 2004 }} from victoriacross.org.uk Hartley arrived in Basutoland from Cape Town in 1875, becoming the first district surgeon in the colony. He was based in Maseru, but frequently traveled across the colony to treat patients. Following the outbreak of the 1879 Morosi's Revolt he served as the principal medical officer of the Cape Colonial Forces. During the course of the campaign he organised his principal hospital at Fort Hartley on the Orange River. He distinguished himself during the campaign earning the Victoria Cross (VC) for his actions.{{cite book|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Scott|last2=Weisfelder|first2=Richard|last3=Frisbie-Fulton|first3=Michelle|title=Historical Dictionary of Lesotho |publisher=The Scarecrow Press|isbn=0-8108-4871-6|date=2004|page=243}} Which bore the following citation:
On 5 June 1879 in South Africa, Surgeon Major Hartley attended the wounded under fire at the unsuccessful attack at Morosi's Mountain. From an exposed position, on open ground, he carried in his arms a wounded corporal of the Cape Mounted Riflemen. The surgeon major then returned under severe enemy fire in order to dress the wounds of the other men of the storming party.{{London Gazette|issue=25023|page=4990|date=7 October 1881}}
Hartley continued his service as the principal medical officer of the Cape troops during the subsequent Basuto Gun War.
Later service
File:Edmund Hartley VC Grave.jpg]]
He later achieved the rank of surgeon colonel and, in March 1900 during the Second Boer War fighting at Aliwal, he is mentioned doing ambulance work, ferrying away the wounded under fire.'The Times; The Advance of the Colonial Division; 10 April 1900; pg4 col F
In November 1900 he was reported wounded following the occupation of Philippolis by Lovat Scouts and Seaforth HighlandersThe Times; Recent British Successes; 13 November 1900; pg5 colC
On 19 April 1901 he was appointed a companion of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Times; Official Appointments and Notices; 6 July 1901; pg16 colB He died in Ash, Hampshire and is buried at Brookwood Cemetery.
The Medal
In 1955 the Victoria Cross medal was bought at Sotheby's for the then record price of £300.£1700 World Record...;The Times; 22 January 1969; pg 12 col F It is now displayed at the Army Medical Services Museum in Mytchett, Surrey.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20041028141357/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/brookwoo.htm Location of grave and VC medal] (Brookwood Cemetery)
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061011061025/http://www.tbcs.org.uk/vcs.htm The Brookwood Cemetery Society] (Known Holders of the Victoria Cross Commemorated in Brookwood Cemetery)
- [http://www.whatsthatpicture.com/?q=node/73 Image of Edmund Barron Hartley aged 12] (Named and dated photograph)
- [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=2341123&pageindex=1 BMJ obituary]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Edmund Barron}}
Category:People from Ivybridge
Category:Burials at Brookwood Cemetery
Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:British recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:British military personnel of the Second Boer War
Category:People of the Basuto Gun War
Category:Cape Colony army officers
Category:British military personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War
Category:British Army regimental surgeons