H.H. Kitchener died on 5 June 1916.
At the outset of the South African War he was second in command to General Roberts, taking over from Roberts in November 1900. He was present at the battles preceding the Relief of Kimberley, and at Paardeberg where Boer General Cronje was captured. He was directly responsible for the scorched earth policy against the Boers and for establishing the concentration camps in which between 18 000 and 28 000 men, women and children died, mainly from disease.
During WW1, on 5 June 1916, Kitchener was making his way to Russia to negotiate with Tsar Nicholas II when the ship on which he was aboard struck a German mine and sank. He was three weeks short of turning 66.
