, the UK's highest award for gallantry.|alt=A bronze cross pattée bearing the crown of Saint Edward surmounted by a lion with the inscription 'FOR VALOUR'. A crimson ribbon is attached. The vast majority of officers to hold the rank of field marshal were professional soldiers in the British Army, though eleven served as officers in the
British Indian Army. At least fifty-seven field marshals were wounded in battle earlier in their careers, of whom 24 were wounded more than once, and eight had been prisoners of war. Fifteen future field marshals were present at the
Battle of Vitoria, where
the Duke of Wellington earned the rank, and ten others served under Wellington at the
Battle of Waterloo. However, only thirty-eight held independent commands in the field, and just twelve served as
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces (the pre-1904 professional head of the army) or Chief of the Imperial General Staff during a major war. Four field marshals (
Sir Evelyn Wood,
Sir George White,
Earl Roberts, and
Lord Gort) had previously received the
Victoria Cross (VC), the United Kingdom's highest and most prestigious award for gallantry 'in the face of the enemy'. Wood, a famously injury-prone officer, was awarded the VC for two actions in 1858, in which he first attacked a group of rebels in India, and later rescued an informant from another group of rebels. White, a
cavalry officer, led two charges on enemy guns in Afghanistan in 1879, while Gort, of the
Grenadier Guards, commanded a series of attacks while severely wounded during the First World War in 1918. Roberts received his VC for actions during the
Indian Mutiny. Wellington, 44 at the time of his promotion, was the youngest non-royal officer to earn the rank of field marshal.
The 1st Marquess of Drogheda was the oldest, promoted at the age of 91, while a further twenty-three officers were promoted to field marshal in their eighties. Wellington was also the only field marshal to become
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. No officer whose career was spent in the British Army has ever reached the rank of field marshal without having served in the
cavalry,
infantry,
Royal Armoured Corps,
Royal Artillery, or
Royal Engineers. One non-British officer has been appointed field marshal in the British Army;
Ferdinand Foch of France, in recognition of his contributions in the First World War, while one,
Sir William Robertson, held every rank in the British Army, from private soldier to field marshal. ==See also==