At Colebrooke Parish Church, Enniskillen HERE LIES THE BODY OF BRIGADIER GENERAL HENRY FRANCIS BROOKE ELDEST SON OF THE LATE GEORGE FREDERICK BROOKE OF ASHBROOKE AND OF THE LADY ARABELLA BROOKE BORN 3RD AUGUST 1836 KILLED IN ACTION 16TH AUGUST 1880 AGED 44 HE FELL WHILE COMMANDING THE SORTIE AGAINST THE VILLAGE OF DEH KHOJA DURING THE SIEGE OF KANDAHAR SOUTH AFGHANISTAN IN THE NOBLE ENDEAVOUR TO SAVE THE LIFE OF A WOUNDED BROTHER OFFICER CAPTAIN CRUICKSHANK R.E. GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS JOHN 15
Battle of Kandahar - Wikipedia The siege of Kandahar The remnants of the straggling column reached Kandahar on the 28th raising the garrison numbers to 4360 — the Afghan population of 12,000 were compelled to leave. With the abandonment of the cantonments, the whole garrison withdrew behind the walls of the fortified city and organised preparations for its defence. These defences included improving and facilitating communications along the city's walls, plugging breaches, constructing gun platforms and the laying of wire obstacles outside the walls to entangle their foe. The Afghans determined to harass and hinder the defenders’ preparations throughout. On 8 August, Ayub Khan, the victor at Maiwand, opened fire on the citadel from Picquet hill north west of the city; a few days later other guns volleyed forth from the villages of Deh Khoja and Deh Khati on the east and south. An attempt to neutralise the village of Deh Khoja, led by Brigadier General Brooke on the 16th, proved unsuccessful. During the extrication, both Brigadier General Brooke and Captain Cruickshank fell, adding to the casualty total of over 100. Photo, Royal Collection Trust: Unknown Person - Brigadier-General Henry Francis Brooke (1836-80) Private Journal Of Henry Francis Brooke, Late Brigadier-General Commanding 2nd Infantry Brigade Kandahar Field Force, Southern Afghanistan, From April 22nd To August 16th, 1880 Private Journal of Henry Francis Brooke by Henry Francis Brooke https://www.amazon.co.uk/Private-Br...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1561472924&sr=8-1 A quote, from said journal, via Henry Francis Brooke b. 03 Aug 1836 Fermanagh d. 16 Aug 1880 Kandahar, Afghanistan: The Tatham Family of County Durham: "I oppose our forward policy in Afghanistan. They (the Afghans) are a very war-like people and prefer tyranny and misgovernment from their own kind to order after the English fashion".
Name Henry Francis Brooke Spouse Ann Isabella Christopher Father George Augustus Frederick Brooke Mother Arabella Georgina Hastings Children George Cecil Birth 03/08/1836 Wakefield Yorkshire England Death 16/08/1880 Kandahar Afghanistan TD Interesting to know why his Will is based in Ireland Web: Ireland, Calendar of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1920 Name: Henry Francis Brooke Death Date: 16 Aug 1880 Death Place: Fermanagh Primary Beneficiary: George H Brooke
'Deh Khoja, from above the Durrani gate', 1880 (c) | Online Collection | National Army Museum, London 'Deh Khoja, from above the Durrani gate', 1880 (c) Photograph by Benjamin Simpson (1831-1923), 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880), 1880 (c). NAM Accession Number: NAM. 1951-01-43-2 Copyright/Ownership: National Army Museum, Out of Copyright Deh Khoja was a village to the east of Kandahar. Ayub Khan's men captured the settlement at the start of the Siege of Kandahar. They stationed several guns there and opened fire on the city. The British attempted to silence the batteries during a sortie on 16 August 1880, but they were unsuccessful. Brigadier-General Henry Brooke, who commanded the operation, was among those killed that day. From an album of 34 photographs. Online Collection | National Army Museum, London
'Deh Khoja, from above the Cabuli gate', 1880 (c) | Online Collection | National Army Museum, London 'Deh Khoja, from above the Cabuli gate', 1880 (c) Photograph by Benjamin Simpson (1831-1923), 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880), 1880 (c). NAM Accession Number: NAM. 1951-01-43-3 Copyright/Ownership: National Army Museum, Out of Copyright Deh Khoja was a village to the east of Kandahar. Ayub Khan's men captured the settlement at the start of the Siege of Kandahar. They stationed several guns there and opened fire on the city. The British attempted to silence the batteries during a sortie on 16 August 1880, but they were unsuccessful. Brigadier-General Henry Brooke, who commanded the operation, was among those killed that day. From an album of 34 photographs. Online Collection | National Army Museum, London
He's from an Anglo-Irish family, the very same which produced Field Marshal Alan Brooke. Viscount Brookeborough - Wikipedia Pre-1922 records are shared/split; some having been previously deposited in the Irish capital city anyway. For the diaspora though it's a mixed blessing. The fire that destroyed all Irish records - the myth and the reality Irish civil registration records survive intact.