The so-called “bravest man in England”, Colonel Fred Burnaby was an all-round, Victorian action hero, who famously met his death fighting the Mahdists, at the Battle of Abu Klea in Sudan, during the British attempt to rescue General Charles Gordon in Khartoum, in 1885.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
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Other videos in this British-Mahdist war in Sudan:
The Battle of El Teb 1884(plus background as to why British were in Sudan)
https://youtu.be/2Co9WWC9pvI
The Battle of Tamai 1884 (the British square broken)
https://youtu.be/aOHWRoo5rPo
The Battle of Abu Klea (“The Gatling’s jammed and the Colonel’s dead”)
https://youtu.be/lAi4NZsLvOU
The Nile Expedition 1885
https://youtu.be/7cCdZbYZVN0
Gordon of Khartoum (A very Victorian hero)
https://youtu.be/z4DggwS1Wr0
The Battle of Omdurman (Gordon is avenged and the British conquer Sudan)
https://youtu.be/P8vE-f869WE
There is a lot more to Burnaby than simply dying in a colonial battle with the British Army.
His life was was like a “Boy’s Own” story.
It took him on adventures travelling through the icy steppes of central Asia to a land where foreigners were excluded, to being a war correspondent, a record setting balloonist, a skilled linguist who mastered 7 languages (not bad for a Brit).
He was a physical giant - standing at 6 foot 4 inches tall, with a 47 inch chest - who could bend metal bars with his bare hands and carry ponies under his arm.
Celebrated in poems and monuments.
A man who fought one of the most famous Victorian politicians in a general election, a best-selling author, as well as a soldier!
This is the story of a Fred Burnaby (known at Burnaby the Brave): A legend in his own lifetime.
Despite being an army officer, Colonel Burnaby rose to national fame as an adventurer.
His journey into central Asia was captured in his best selling book: "A Journey to Khiva".
He also became a record-setting balloonist.
But eventually, the adventure of warfare took him to Sudan in 1884.
Having fought at the Battle of El Teb, he managed to secure a place on Sir Garnet Wolseley's Nile Expedition to rescue General Gordon in Khartoum.
Made second-in-command of the Desert Column, he met his death at the Battle of Abu Klea.
Lamented in Sir Henry Newbolt's poem, "Vitai Lampada" with the famous line "the gatling's jammed and the colonel dead".
Burnaby's most famous memorial is a 50 foot obelisk in Birmingham, the city where he fought Joseph Chamberlain in the 1880 General Election.
Sources used in researching this video included:
"Faces & Places" - Henry w Lucy
Great British Nutters blogspot.com
Oswestry School
Alistair Lexden
Wikipedia
#colonel burnaby #battleofabuklea #mahdistwar #generalgordon
Chapters
0:00 Fred Burnaby
1:12 Early Life
2:11 Burnaby the Strong Man
4:29 A Ride to Khiva
8:51 Marriage
9:11 General Election against Joseph Chamberlain
10:45 Balloon Adventure
12:25 Sudan Campaign
14:40 Death at Abu Klea
17:32 Burnaby the Brave
19:51 Harry Flashman
21:00 The History Chap
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My name is Chris Green ("The History Chap") and I am on a mission to share the amazing history of Britain so that we can appreciate where we have come from and why we are here.
History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or Youtube animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.
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