Colonel Sir Henry Tombs VC, Bengal Horse Artillery, 1858

Photograph, 1858.

Studio portrait of Colonel (later Major General) Sir Henry Tombs (1824-1874), Bengal Horse Artillery, wearing his Victoria Cross.

Henry Tombs was the son of Major General John Tombs (1777-1848) and was born at sea, while his parents were on passage to India in 1824. He was educated in England at the East India Company Military Seminary at Addiscombe, and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Bengal Horse Artillery in 1841. He served at the Battles of Moodkee and Ferozeshah in 1845, during the 1st Sikh War (1845-1846). Tombs fought in the 2nd Sikh War (1846-1849) and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Siege of Delhi during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859).