poor man; his effects, which included a ring, watch, Bible and Prayer book, and a miniature, were sold for only £170. General remarked "there was nothing in his boxes but what an officer might legitimately and honourably have in his possession." His widow did not have money enough to pay for her passage home and she had to apply to the Compassionate Fund for assistance, which was granted. She was offered the use of an apartment by Queen Victoria at Hampton Court Palace, and left only £442 at her death. Death On 11 March 1858 Hodson's regiment was in Lucknow and while storming the Begum's palace (Begum Kothi) he was shot. His last words were "I hope I have done my duty". On the evening of 12 March 1858, his body was buried in the garden of La Martiniere Lucknow. His grave is still located within the grounds of La Martiniere College. The memorial bears the inscription "Here lies all that could die of William Stephen Raikes Hodson". Legacy In parliamentary speeches made on 14 April 1859 the Prime Minister Earl of Derby, and the Secretary of State for India Lord Stanley, paid tribute to Hodson. Lord Stanley is quoted as saying: The prime minister said of him General Hugh Gough said of him, This recognition of Hodson by the prime minister was reflected in the special pension granted his widow by the secretary of state for India in Council, who declared it was "testimony of the high sense entertained of the gallant and distinguished services of the late Brevet-Major W.S.R. Hodson". In 1860 Queen Victoria honoured him by granting his widow a grace-and-favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace "in consideration of the distinguished service of your late husband in India". A large monument to Major Hodson was erected in Lichfield Cathedral, near his father's memorial. It was carved by Thomas Earp to the designs of George Edmund Street. He features as one of the main characters in James Leasor's novel about the Mutiny, Follow the Drum (1972), which describes his part in these events and his death in some detail. See also Chhibramau for Hodson's Adventure Notes Further reading Twelve years of a soldier's life in India: being extracts from the letters of the late Major W. S. R. Hodson ed. by his brother, the Rev. George H. Hodson Lionel James Trotter A Leader of Light Horse: Life of