This photograph depicts an unidentified captain of the Essex Regiment but thanks to

Mr. Mick Murray has now been identified as Captain Wilfrid Arthur Hebden of the 1st
Battalion, the Essex Regiment. The photo was taken in 1899 just before the battalion departed for South Africa and Anglo- Boer War service. Mr. Murray provided information that originally appeared in the 1908 book titled The 1st Battalion Essex Regiment in South Africa 1899-1902 by Battalion Adjutant Brevet-Major A. G. Pratt.

 

Hebden was born in February 1867 at East Farleigh, Kent, England. Educated at Harrow and the Royal Military Academy, he was the son of Alfred H. P. Hebden and Alice. His father was a member of the clergy.

Hebden's promotions were as follows:

Gentleman Cadet, Royal Military College - 1885
Lieutenant - 30 January, 1886, 1st Battalion, Essex Regiment
Captain – 8 July 1897

 

The book also states that Capt. Hebden died of enteric fever at De Aar, South Africa on 27th January 1900.


The medal roll for the Queen’s South Africa Medal shows Hebden as being entitled to that medal with the single clasp for “Cape Colony”.

Cabinet Photograph
P. Rayner, Newport Photographic Studio - Photographer
Warley, Essex, England
c. 1900