Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts died of pneumonia on 14 November 1914 while visiting troops fighting in France at the beginning of the First World War. He was 82 years old. Roberts fought in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions on 2 January 1858.
Roberts arrived in South Africa at Cape Town on 23 December 1899 to take overall command of British forces in the South African War (1899-1902) after a number of strategic British defeats.
He immediately launched a two-pronged offensive, personally leading the advance via the Relief of Kimberley into the Orange Free State. General Buller was leading the offensive in Natal. Strategies devised by Roberts, to force the Boer commandos to submit, included concentration camps and the burning of farms. Having implemented these strategies Roberts believed the war was effectively over and handed over command to Lord Kitchener in December 1900, returning to England.
