1. Thomas, Lord Cochrane
By the time of his death, Cochrane had been acquitted twice at court martial, suffered disgrace for stock market fraud, been imprisoned, escaped and been imprisoned again, yet seen his honours and titles restored and his status as one of Britain’s greatest naval heroes finally recognised. His life inspired the Hornblower stories by C S Forester and later formed the fictional career of Jack Aubrey in the books by Patrick O’Brian.
“He ordered his brave little crew into the explosion boat, and followed them, after putting fire to the fuse, which was calculated to give them 15 minutes to get out of reach.” Lord Cochrane’s victory, 1809
2. Robert Clive
Twice tried to shoot himself in the head with a pistol. When the gun misfired both times he handed it to a passing friend, saying: “Fire that out of the window would you?” The gun fired perfectly into the bushes. Robert Clive believed he had been saved for some great destiny – and went on to save India from the French.
“The great Empire of the East was opened to us by the audacity and discernment which led a battalion against a host, and counted with confidence on the British bayonet.” A memorial to Clive
3. Sir Henry Morgan
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Morgan was a knight and a politician, a ruffian and a pirate. Morgan’s combination of ruthlessness, leadership and seamanship would make him the terror of the West Indies and strike fear into the Spanish settlements. He sacked Panama and raided Cuba, yet managed to become Acting Governor of Jamaica and was knighted by King Charles II.
4. Douglas Bader
Bader was most famous for losing his legs in a pre-war crash. Despite that loss, he refused to use a stick and walked again on tin legs. He flew in the Battle of Britain and is credited with 22 kills. He was brash, aggressive, unapologetic, rude and fantastically courageous. He had no concept of diplomacy and made enemies far more easily than friends. We need more like him.
‘Legless airman’ gets a blue plaque
5. Cecil Rhodes
Prime Minister of Cape Colony, the owner of the De Beers diamond company and of course the creator of Rhodesia, a territory larger than France and Germany put together, Rhodes has a claim to being the greatest non-military achiever in human history. Astonishingly, he lived for just 48 years. Alexander the Great did more, but in fairness to Rhodes, Alexander had an army.
“We conquered the Matabele and destroyed their power,” Dr Cecil Rhodes, 1894
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6. James Brooke
A combination of comic amateurism, wild courage and fervent self-belief led to James Brooke negotiating the kingdom of Sarawak in Borneo as his personal fiefdom in 1841, appalling the colonial powers of Britain and Holland. Once in his charge, he wrote a code of laws and enforced them impartially, running up huge debts to keep his colony afloat.
“Between 12 and 1 o’clock I was awakened by yells and shots, and, seizing my sword and revolver, I opened a window and saw that the house was surrounded,” Sir James Brooke, 1857
7. Sir Charles Napier
Napier’s statue stands in Trafalgar Square, but Ken Livingstone once said that not one in a thousand knew who he was. Complex and interesting, Napier was a fierce fighter, but also a compassionate man. As Governor of Sindh, Napier abolished ‘suttee’, the practice of burning widows alive on their husbands’ pyres. He also arranged for Gurkha troops from Nepal to receive the same pay as Sepoys and was reprimanded for the waste of money.
“The nobleness of the Sepoy army, and the advantages which it enjoys, are known to the world,” Sir Charles Napier, 1850
8. Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton
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The archetypal Victorian scholar-adventurer, Burton was a soldier, a spy, a tinker, a surveyor, a doctor, an explorer, a naturalist and a superb fencer. As an undercover agent, he was instrumental in provinces of India coming under British control, playing what Kipling called ‘The Great Game’ with skill and ruthlessness. In recent times, Burton was one of the inspirations of Harry Flashman in the books by MacDonald Fraser.
“One of the most remarkable and cosmopolitan, and at the same time, most scholarly, explorers of our time.” Obituary of Sir Richard Burton, 1890
9. Garnet Wolseley
Wolseley was one of the great Victorian soldiers. He began with no funds or influence, so decided to make his way with suicidal bravery instead. His meteoric rise through the army ranks began when he led not one but two ‘Forlorn Hopes’ against a well-fortified position. He went on to fight in India, Burma, China, Russia and Canada and even took leave to observe the American Civil War. For decades afterwards, ‘all Sir Garnet’ meant well-planned and well-organised.
“Grievously wounded and lying helpless on his back, Wolseley waved his sword and oheered his men on to the assault,” The adventures of Garnet Wolseley, 1879
10. Sir Francis Drake
As much a pirate as Henry Morgan, Drake always managed to go about his business with royal approval. He brought back vast fortunes from Spanish South America – money Queen Elizabeth I used to form the British East India Company.
“Sir Francis Drake not only rendered signal services to England as the most daring commander of the fleet, but also signal service to Europe by the introduction of the potato,” letter to The Times, 1882
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Taken from The Dangerous Book of Heroes by Conn Iggulden and David Iggulden, (HarperCollins, £20)