Herbert Haydon Wilson was the youngest son of the late Sir Samuel Wilson of Ireildoune, Victoria, Australia, and of Lady Wilson of Brighton.

He was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford. Soon after leaving Oxford he joined the Nottinghamshire Imperial Yeomanry, awarded a DSO, Queen’s Medal and was twice mentioned in despatches in the Boer War. Sadly, his brother Wilfred lost his life while his brother Clarence was severely wounded during the Boer War.

Captain Herbert Wilson was an influential figure in polo circles serving as a member of the Hurlingham Committee, the governing body of polo. He often played at the Roehampton Club, winning his Olympic gold medal in 1908 with their team.

He played in the Westchester Cup in 1909 and 1911. Wilson also won the All-Ireland Open, the Army Cup, Ranelagh Open, Roehampton Cup, Public Schools’ Cup, and the Hurlingham Champion Cup.

He was a keen huntsman and rode with the Quorn, Cottesmore and Belvoir hunts from his country residence at Ashby Folville in Leicestershire.

In 1914-18 War, Herbert took a commission in the Royal Horse Guards serving on the Western Front. He was killed in action on 11 April 1917, aged 42. He is buried in Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery, Arras, France in plot V.A.1.

Herbert’s elder brother, Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Wilson, MVO of the Royal Horse Guards, was also killed in action on the Western Front.