Wilson was the youngest son of Sir Samuel Wilson, of Victoria, Australia.
He was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Sherwood Rangers (Nottinghamshire Yeomanry) on 25 December 1895. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, Wilson volunteered to serve in South Africa, and was in February 1900 appointed a lieutenant of the Imperial Yeomanry,[3][4] where he served with the 3rd Battalion from 1900 to 1901 (twice Mentioned in Despatches). In March 1901 he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for gallantry in defence of posts in the Boer attack on Lichtenburg.[5] Promoted to a captain, he relinquished his commission with the 3rd Battalion on 18 July 1901, and was granted the honorary rank of captain in the Army.[6] He received the substantive rank of captain in the Sherwood Rangers on 20 December 1902.[7]
In the 1908 Olympics, he was a member of the British polo team Roehampton, which won the gold medal.
In 1911 he was an investor in J.M.P.F.W. Ltd. the company behind the Parker expedition to Jerusalem who were looking for the Ark of the Covenant. His brothers Clarence Wilson and Gordon Chesney Wilson both went on the expedition.[8]
Wilson was killed in action aged 42 during the First World War, serving as a captain with the Royal Horse Guards near Arras in the Second Battle of Arras. He was killed on the 11th April 1917 near the village of Monchy-le-Preux. Four regiments of the 3rd Cavalry Division were sent forward to exploit an anticipated breakthrough. They were the Royal Horse Guards, the 10th Hussars and the Essex Yeomanry. They rode through a snowstorm to the frontline north of the village. There they were met by deadly machine-gun fire and shelling and dismounted to create a defensive line. The cavalrymen took cover but had to tether their horses where they fought. Six hundred cavalrymen and many more horses became casualties. It was in this action that Herbert Wilson died, defending the small village against a German counter-attack. He was buried in the Faubourg D'Amiens Cemetery nearby.[9][10][8]
^ abAddison, Graham (2021). Raiders of the Hidden Ark: The story of the Parker expedition to Jerusalem. Edgcumbe Press. pp. 210–11. ISBN978-1-9196495-0-4.
^Wilson, Herbert Hayden, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved 28 September 2008
^. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
herbert, haydon, wilson, february, 1875, april, 1917, british, officer, polo, player, competed, 1908, summer, olympics, olympic, medal, record, polo, 1908, london, team, competition, contents, biography, also, references, external, linksbiography, editwilson, . Herbert Haydon Wilson DSO 14 February 1875 11 April 1917 was a British officer and polo player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics 1 2 Olympic medal record Men s Polo 1908 London Team competition Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography editWilson was the youngest son of Sir Samuel Wilson of Victoria Australia He was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Sherwood Rangers Nottinghamshire Yeomanry on 25 December 1895 Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899 Wilson volunteered to serve in South Africa and was in February 1900 appointed a lieutenant of the Imperial Yeomanry 3 4 where he served with the 3rd Battalion from 1900 to 1901 twice Mentioned in Despatches In March 1901 he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order DSO for gallantry in defence of posts in the Boer attack on Lichtenburg 5 Promoted to a captain he relinquished his commission with the 3rd Battalion on 18 July 1901 and was granted the honorary rank of captain in the Army 6 He received the substantive rank of captain in the Sherwood Rangers on 20 December 1902 7 In the 1908 Olympics he was a member of the British polo team Roehampton which won the gold medal In 1911 he was an investor in J M P F W Ltd the company behind the Parker expedition to Jerusalem who were looking for the Ark of the Covenant His brothers Clarence Wilson and Gordon Chesney Wilson both went on the expedition 8 Wilson was killed in action aged 42 during the First World War serving as a captain with the Royal Horse Guards near Arras in the Second Battle of Arras He was killed on the 11th April 1917 near the village of Monchy le Preux Four regiments of the 3rd Cavalry Division were sent forward to exploit an anticipated breakthrough They were the Royal Horse Guards the 10th Hussars and the Essex Yeomanry They rode through a snowstorm to the frontline north of the village There they were met by deadly machine gun fire and shelling and dismounted to create a defensive line The cavalrymen took cover but had to tether their horses where they fought Six hundred cavalrymen and many more horses became casualties It was in this action that Herbert Wilson died defending the small village against a German counter attack He was buried in the Faubourg D Amiens Cemetery nearby 9 10 8 See also editList of Olympians killed in World War IReferences edit Herbert Wilson Sports Reference Archived from the original on 1 August 2015 Retrieved 3 August 2015 Herbert Haydon Wilson Olympedia Retrieved 5 April 2021 No 27160 The London Gazette 2 February 1900 p 692 No 27163 The London Gazette Supplement 9 February 1900 p 911 No 27307 The London Gazette 23 April 1901 p 2775 No 27417 The London Gazette 18 March 1902 p 1882 No 27505 The London Gazette 19 December 1902 p 8761 a b Addison Graham 2021 Raiders of the Hidden Ark The story of the Parker expedition to Jerusalem Edgcumbe Press pp 210 11 ISBN 978 1 9196495 0 4 Wilson Herbert Hayden Commonwealth War Graves Commission Retrieved 28 September 2008 Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War Sports Reference Archived from the original on 7 November 2014 Retrieved 3 August 2015 External links editprofile http www cwgc org find war dead casualty 575407 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Herbert Haydon Wilson amp oldid 1223661435, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
