Order of Merit awarded to Field Marshal Viscount Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1902

Wolseley was an influential commander with important victories in several 19th-century colonial campaigns. He was also one of the first soldiers to be admitted to the Order on its inception in 1902. Membership was limited to the Sovereign and a maximum of 24 others. It comprised six admirals, six generals and 12 civilians eminent in the fields of art, music and literature.