Edwardes

Edwardes, Herbert Benjamin, Sir (1819-1868), an English soldier and Indian Civil servant, was born in Shropshire. He went to India as a cadet in 1840, and, studying the native tongues, qualified as an interpreter. He attracted the notice of Henry Lawrence and of Sir Hugh Gough, on whose staff he was at the battles of Moodkee and Sobraon. He was with Sir Henry Lawrence in his residency at Lahore, and when during Sir Henry's absence in England things went wrong, Edwardes displayed much judgment and energy. His diplomacy was also used to good purpose during the Indian Mutiny. In 1865 ill-health drove him to England. Sir Henry Lawrence spoke of his having done more for India by his action in a time of difficulty than any man since Clive, and Sir John Lawrence called him a born ruler of men. Sir Herbert Edwardes began a Life of Sir Henry Lawrence, and wrote A Year on the Punjab Frontier.