Sir James Outram

Soldier

Sir James Outram, Baronet, is buried in the nave of Westminster Abbey. He was the second son of Benjamin Outram (d.1805) and his wife Margaret (Anderson) and was born at Butterley Hall in Derbyshire on 29th January 1803. His widowed mother moved the family to Aberdeen where James was educated. He was an army officer in the East India Company and spent most of his life in India establishing British rule there. His name is connected with the defence of Lucknow and his brother Francis (d.1829) was in the Bombay Engineers. In India in 1835 he married his cousin Margaret Clementina Anderson (d.1911). Their only child was Francis (1836-1912). In 1842 the epithet 'Bayard of India' was first linked with his name and in 1857 he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. He died at Pau in France and his body was returned to the Abbey for burial. The gravestone inscription reads:

Lieutenant General Sir James Outram. Born January 29 1803. Died March 11 1863. The Bayard of India.

On the window ledge nearby is a memorial to the General by sculptor Matthew Noble. It consists of a bust with the name OUTRAM below it and a bas-relief showing the scene at the Residency when Lord Clyde (who is buried near him) relieved Lucknow after a siege. General Havelock is shown standing between Outram and Clyde. On either side are figures of a seated Scindian chief and a seated Bheel chief. The inscription reads:

To the memory of Lieut.Gen. Sir James Outram Bart. G.C.B. K.S.I. etc. A soldier of the East India Company, who during a service of forty years in war, and in council, by deeds of bravery and devotion, by an unselfish life, by benevolence never weary of well doing, sustained the honor of the British nation, won the love of his comrades, and promoted the happiness of the people of India. Born January 29th 1803. Died March 11th 1863. Erected in this Abbey at the public cost March 25th 1863. This monument is erected by the Secretary of State for India in Council.