Herbert Eaton was born into English nobility, but distinguished himself as a soldier in the British Army, eventually attaining the rank of Major General.
We were able to find a biography of him on Wikipedia: (
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"Major-General Herbert Francis Eaton, 3rd Baron Cheylesmore KCMG, KCVO (25 January 1848 – 29 July 1925) was a British Army officer, sportsman, and peer. He was Chairman of London County Council, chairman of the National Rifle Association and presided over courts martial during World War I.
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Military career
At the age of twenty Eaton joined the Grenadier Guards, and went to Dublin, where he was given the nickname "Brown" by his brother officers. . . . He first appeared in Vanity Fair in 1891 as commander of the 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, which he had “just brought back from a well-deserved, if enforced, holiday in Bermuda. As some curious punishment, the entire battalion had been sent to there for a year following 'an act of insubordination.'” . . . . He has thrown himself heart and soul into most things connected with the Brigade . . . He has commanded the N.R.A. camp at Wimbledon and Bisley for seven years; yet withal he has found time to start and successfully edit The Brigade of Guards Magazine. He is a very good and very popular Colonel."
He became Major-General in 1899, and was appointed a Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John (KStJ) in July 1901.
World War I and after
At the outbreak of World War I, Cheylesmore became commandant of a School of Musketry at Bisley Camp, where the ranges were put at the disposal of the Army Council. The school was to train and provide instructors in musketry from those who had passed the age of military service. The School trained some 14,500 officers, NCOs and civilians for service in the Army and Territorial Force.
Of Cheylesmore it was said "He is never happier than when the boys have their week at Bisley, and he can devote a portion of his well-earned holidays to “teaching the young idea to shoot. Loves rifle shooting as much as marksmen like him – which is indeed saying a very great deal. Has done more to advance the “nation of marksmen” ideal than any other nobleman in the country".
During World War I he presided over several courts-martial including that which condemned the spy Carl Hans Lody to death.
Cheylesmore was honoured Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in June 1925. He died a month later aged 77, in a motor accident,the first peer to suffer such a fate in Britain."
From Wikipedia, more about the impressive memorial itself: (
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"The Cheylesmore Memorial is a Grade II listed outdoor stone memorial dedicated to British Army officer Herbert Eaton, 3rd Baron Cheylesmore, located in the Victoria Embankment Gardens in Westminster, London, England. The memorial was designed by Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1930.
At the dedication ceremony on 17 July, 1930, the memorial was unveiled by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the third son of Queen Victoria. Those attending included John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe and Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen.
The memorial is made of Portland stone and has seats backing on to a decorative screen facing a small pond. An inscription at the centre of the screen reads:
Major-General Lord Cheylesmore, GBE, KCMG, KCMO, Grenadier Guards. Born 1848. Died 1925. Soldier, administrator, philanthropist and steadfast friend."