Frederick Hughes was the grandson of Rev. Sir Thomas Collingwood Hughes, the 8th Baronet of East Bergholt, Suffolk. He was educated at Winchester School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from where he was gazetted into the South Wales Borderers in 1886. He fought in the 1899-1900 Boer War and, after joining the 3rd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, rose from the rank of captain and then major. Having been on the reserve list since 1906, he was recalled for service in 1914 and saw further active service in World War I. He was decorated as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (M.V.O.), the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus of Italy, and was made an OBE in 1919. He was also mentioned in dispatches and received the Queen’s Medal with six clasps.
Hughes was one of the 5-man crew aboard the Duchess of Westminster-owned cutter Sorais that won the bronze medal in the 8-metre class at the 1908 Olympics. His brother Collingwood was a fellow crew member.
Great Britain