Charles Hotham Montague Doughty-Wylie Early life Charles Hotham Doughty was born on 23rd July 1868 at Theberton, Suffolk. He was the son of Henry Montagu Doughty, a retired Naval Officer. He was educated at Winchester College and graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1889. When he married Lilian Wylie, in May 1904, he took her surname to become Doughty-Wylie. They had no children. Military Career

After graduating from Sandhurst, Doughty- Charles Doughty-Wylie Wylie was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Royal Welch Fusiliers on 21st September 1889. His military career included the Expedition of 1895 in India, the 1898 Occupation of Crete, the in 1898-99, the , the in China 1900, and Somaliland in 1903-1904 where he commanded a unit of Somaliland Camel Corps. During the Young Turk Revolution of 1909 Doughty-Wylie was the British consul in Mersina, , where he successfully halted the massacre of Armenians. During the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, whilst working with the British Red Cross he was awarded the Imperial Ottoman Order of Medijedieh, 2nd Class, for his service to wounded Turkish men. At the beginning of the First World War, Doughty- Wylie was a Lieutenant Colonel in The Royal Welch Fusiliers, British Army. Due to his earlier experience in Turkey he joined the staff of General Ian Hamilton, commander designate of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, during the Battle of . Somaliland Camel Corps Lieutenant Colonel Doughty- Wylie was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the . On the 25th April 1915 Doughty- Wylie was on the SS off V Beach were it had landed the nd 2 Hampshire Regiment, the SS River Clyde, V Beach 1st and the 1st under heavy enemy fire with great losses. Doughty-Wylie was aware of the desperate situation on the beach and the next day he volunteered to go ashore and assess the situation. He and Captain Garth Neville Walford of the Royal Field organised the survivors into an attack on the village of Sedd-El-Bahr. The Turkish position was strong and well-defended but the attack was successful due to the skill and gallantry of the two officers. Both men were killed during the attack. It was said that Doughty-Wylie carried only a cane into battle as he did not wish to bear arms against his former friends. He was shot in the face by a sniper and died instantly.

Death Both Doughty-Wylie and Walford were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for their bravery at Gallipoli. He was the highest ranking officer to be awarded the V Beach Victoria Cross during the Gallipoli Campaign. He was buried close to where he fell, his grave being the only one at the summit of the hill renamed Fort Doughty-Wylie in his honour. Lieutenant Colonal Doughty- Wylie’s Victoria Cross is held by the Regimental Museum of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, Caernarfon, Wales. Please visit the website for more information on the First World War and Suffolk

www.suffolkmilitarycovenant.org.uk