W. S. R. (William Stephen Raikes) Hodson

Born in 1821, William Stephen Raikes Hodson was educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge, before joining the Bengal Army of the East India Company. He served in India during the Sikh campaigns and later became known for his energy, nerve, and flair for irregular cavalry warfare.

Hodson is best known for raising Hodson’s Horse, a regiment that gained a formidable reputation, and for his role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. During the fighting around Delhi, he took part in the arrest of the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II and became especially notorious for killing three of the emperor’s sons after their capture, an act that has shaped his historical reputation ever since.

He was killed in March 1858 during the operations to retake Lucknow. Much of his posthumous fame came through his published letters and journals, which helped create the image of a bold soldier-adventurer, even as historians have continued to debate his conduct and legacy.