Lieutenant-General Sir Fenton John Aylmer, 13th Baronet (5 April 1862 – 3 September 1935) was an Anglo-Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was in command of the first failed efforts to break the siege of Kut in 1916. From a military background, Aylmer was commissioned into the Indian Army, and immediately involved in fierce fighting on the north-west frontier. In a singularly heroic action, still in his twenties, he helped rescue Townshend's garrison at Chitral, spearheading the relief column. For his valorous conduct he was awarded the Victoria Cross, and rapid promotion through the officer class. Early career Born the son of Captain Fenton John Aylmer and Isabella Eleanor Darling. Aylmer attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, as a Gentleman Cadet and was promoted Lieutenant on 27 July 1880. He took part in the Burma expedition between 1886 and 1887. The Victoria Cross Fenton was 29 years old, and a captain in the Corps of Royal Engineers, British Army and Bengal Sappers & Miners (British Indian Army), during the Hunza–Nagar Campaign, India when he won the Victoria Cross in 1891 for the following deed: He was promoted Major on 18 October 1893 in recognition of his services during the Hunza-Nagar Expedition, and was part of the Chitral Expedition in 1895. Further service with the Royal Engineers saw him promoted a brevet Lieutenant-colonel. In July 1901 he was appointed Assistant Quartermaster general in India, and promoted to the substantive rank of colonel. Ten years later, in March 1912, having been promoted to major-general, he became Adjutant-General, India. In 1913 he married Lady Risley, the widow of Sir Herbert Hope Risley, head of the Indian Civil Service. She was born Elsie Julie Oppermann, daughter of Friedrich Oppermann. First World War Having been promoted to lieutenant general on 11 June 1915, Aylmer was sent to Mesopotamia to take over command of the 7th (Meerut) Division. However, shortly after his arrival, he was put in charge of the Tigris Corps that was assembled as the first effort to end the siege of Kut. Tigris Corps comprised the Meerut Division, the 12th Indian Division, and a number of other smaller military units. All told he had more than 20,000 men. They left Basra in late December 1915 and arrived at Sheikh Sa'ad on 3 January 1916. While the 12th Indian Division (under command of General George Gorringe) made a diversionary move near Nasiriyeh, the