Born the son of
4th Baron Lyttelton and Mary Lyttelton (née Glynne) and educated at
Eton College, Lyttelton was commissioned into the
Rifle Brigade in January 1865. As a junior officer he was sent to
Canada, where he helped defeat the
Fenian raids in 1866 and served as secretary to the Oregon Boundary Commission in 1867. to
captain on 13 October 1877 and to
major on 22 February 1882. In 1880 he was made private secretary to
Hugh Childers,
Secretary of State for War. He saw action at the
Battle of Tel el-Kebir and was
mentioned in despatches. He was promoted to brevet
lieutenant colonel and awarded the
Order of Osmanieh (4th Class) on 17 November 1882. Lyttelton became assistant military secretary to Lieutenant General Sir John Adye in his role as
Governor of Gibraltar on 1 January 1883 and military secretary to
Lord Reay,
Governor of Bombay in 1885. He was promoted to brevet
colonel on 18 November 1886 and became second-in-command of the 3rd Battalion of his regiment in 1890. he became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of his regiment in 1893 and went on to be commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of his regiment in Ireland. Lyttelton was given command of
2nd Brigade with the temporary rank of
brigadier general on 13 July 1898 and led his brigade at the
battle of Omdurman in September 1898 during the
Mahdist War. and then, having become a supernumerary
major general for distinguished service in the field on 15 November 1898 and promoted to the substantive rank of major general on 10 February 1899, he briefly took back his old command at 2nd Brigade, now based at
Aldershot Command, on 1 September 1899. Lyttelton served in the
Second Boer War as commander of the
4th Brigade in South Africa from 9 October 1899. He temporarily became general officer commanding the
2nd Division in February 1900, then commanded the
4th Division, and was involved in the
Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900 and the
Battle of Vaal Krantz in February 1900, leading to the
Relief of Ladysmith later that month.
Lord Roberts in his despatch referred to Lyttelton as an officer "with great coolness under fire, and considerable tactical knowledge and resource...an excellent commander in the field." He was in command of the troops in
Natal until June 1902, when he became
Commander-in-Chief of the whole of South Africa following the end of the Second Boer War the previous month. In this role Lyttelton and his wife sought to repair relations with the
Boer community. On 12 February 1904 Lyttelton was appointed
Chief of the General Staff and a member of the newly formed
Army Council. This new post was created following the abolition of the post of
Commander-in-Chief of the Forces as recommended by
Lord Esher in the
Esher Report. This was the time of the
Haldane Reforms which sought to implement both a new
expeditionary force and a new
territorial force, but according to Edward M Spiers, Lyttelton was not up to the task – he was "feckless, malleable, and failed to lead the Army Council". He took part both in the funeral procession following the death of
King Edward VII in May 1910 and the coronation procession for
King George V in June 1911. He was appointed
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 12 July 1911 and retired on 10 August 1912. In retirement Lyttelton was a member of the
Mesopotamia Commission which sat in 1916/17. The King insisted on his appointment as
Governor of the
Royal Hospital Chelsea from 10 August 1912 until his death there on 6 July 1931. published in
Vanity Fair in 1901. ==Family==