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John Palmer Brabazon was a well known character in British society and a brave military officer who served in many campaigns. He was unconventional, foppish and made many enemies in the military establishment. He affected an aristocratic persona despite his relatively poor background, and managed to live an expensive lifestyle as an officer in elite regiments like the Grenadier Guards and 10th Hussars. London society sought his company to enjoy his sarcastic wit. He spoke with an affected impediment pronouncing R as W so that he was nick-named ‘Bwab’. When he joined the 4th Hussars as CO in 1891 he upset the mess president by asking, “And what chemist do you get this champagne fwom?”
Brabazon was born on 12 Feb 1843, the son of Major Hugh Brabazon of County Mayo, and Eleanor Ambrosia Palmer. Hugh was the son of Catherine Higgins, sister of Sir Anthony Brabazon Bt. He changed his name from Higgins to Brabazon in 1852, presumably John must have been born with the name of Higgins and had it changed for him at the same time. His elder brother Luke Brabazon was executed by the Chinese in 1860 and his father, Hugh, died in 1864 whilst on a mission looking for Luke’s body. This meant that John inherited the family property at Swinford. He entered the army as an ensign in the Grenadier Guards on 4 Feb 1862. The unusual double-ranking system in the Brigade of Guards brought about his promotion to ensign & lieutenant on 8 Aug 1862 and lieutenant & captain on 10 July 1866. There was a gap in his military career when he sold his commission in 1870, but when Garnet Wolseley organised an expedition to West Africa he offered his services. He served as a Special Service Volunteer in the Ashanti War in 1874, attached to the expedition under Captain Butler that went to Western Akim, and afterwards he was with the Transport Service. As a result of his useful contribution he was offered a commission in the 10th Hussars, although with the lower rank of lieutenant. He joined the 10th in India while they were stationed at Muttra, in 1874. He went on active service with the regiment in the Afghan War in 1878-80, and later as Brigade Major and Staff Officer of the cavalry in the Kuram Field Force. He was at the capture of Peiwar Kotal, in the operations in the Khost Valley, the engagement at Charasiah on 6 Oct 1879, and the operations around Kabul in Dec 1879 including the siege of Sherpore. He was on Roberts’s march from Kabul to Kandahar as Brigade Major of Cavalry and was with the reconnaissance on 31 Aug and the Battle of Kandahar for which he was several times mentioned in despatches. He was with the 10th Hussars in the Sudan in 1884 taking part in the battles of El Teb in which he was wounded, and leading a charge at Tamai for which he was given a brevet of lieutenant-colonel on 21 May 1884. He served throughout the Nile Expedition of 1884-5 with the Light Camel Regiment and was at the battle of Abu Klea on the 16th and 17th Feb. It was at Abu Klea that Brabazon lent one of his special pattern pistols to Lieut Lord Airlie, thus saving his life when Airlie was wounded and shot his adversary dead. The weapon was one of a pair of double-barrelled pistols purchased from Wilkinson’s of Pall Mall in 1877. They were popular with officers in India for both military and hunting use, being simple to operate, large calibre and having good stopping power. Weapons were a subject to which Brabazon gave much thought. During the Boer War he urged the used of tomahawks for cavalry actions. He was promoted to captain in the 10th Hussars on 13 Nov 1879 and brevet major on 2 Mar 1881. He transferred to the 4th Hussars as lieutenant-colonel commandant in 1891. He later commanded 2nd Cavalry Brigade in the Boer War but fell foul of General French when he failed to hold covering positions near the Naawpoort to Arundel railway in Dec1899. He was removed to the Imperial Yeomanry which he commanded with the temporary rank of major-general. But this was a nominal command as the 6 Yeomanry regiments operated independently. Over all he was disenchanted with the Boer War. He is quoted as saying, “I never saw so much bad fighting in the whole course of my life as I did in South Africa.” He was appointed Knight Commander of the Bath and Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, as well as Colonel of the 18th Hussars. He lived long enough to see his country get through World War One. He never married, and there are no stories of his relationships so one can only speculate on his sexuality. His last known address was 10 Wilton Crescent in Middlesex, formerly of Brabazon Park, County Mayo. He was in Montreux, Switzerland when he died on 20 Sep 1922.
1862 Ensign in Grenadier Guards 4 Feb The illustrations of Brabazon in 1884 and 1899 are by Douglas Anderson. They were printed on the back cover of Military Illustrated magazine January 1993 as part of an article by Stuart W Allen. The uniform worn by Major Brabazon in the Sudan is the service dress of the 10th Hussars in 1884. |
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