Colonel Charles James Long

Charles James Long was born on 18 Nov 1849 at Owlesbury, Hants. He entered the army as a lieutenant in the RA in 1870. He served in the Second Afghan War of 1878-80 and fought in the Sudan in 1897. As a lieutenant-colonel he was at Omdurman and was highly praised by the Sirdar, Lord Kitchener for his handling of the British and Egyptian Artillery, and mentioned in despatches. He was promoted to Colonel in September 1899 and commanded the garrison at Estcourt. He made the mistake of putting men on a train with open trucks to patrol the line as far as Colenso. This was ambushed on 15 Nov 1899 and many British casualties resulted including the capture of Winston Churchill. A month later he foolishly placed his artillery too close to the Boer defences at Colenso, one thousand yards from the river. General Buller was dismayed at Long’s blunder and blamed him for losing the battle (“I was sold by a damned gunner!”). Heroics were performed by officers and men trying to save the guns, most famously by Lieutenant Freddy Roberts the son of Lord Roberts. Freddy was killed and Roberts never forgave Buller. Colonel Long was responsible for the loss of 10 guns and many lives. Long himself was severely wounded by shrapnel. He was married to a widow, Lucy Paton neé Rushton, on 7 Jan 1908. He died at Sidmouth, Devon on 19 March 1933.

Regimental Details | Commanding Officers