| Ross Lowis Mangles | |
| Birth Date: | 14 April 1833 |
| Birth Place: | Calcutta, British India |
| Death Place: | Pirbright, Surrey |
| Placeofburial: | Brookwood Cemetery |
| Battles: | Indian Mutiny |
| Awards: | Victoria Cross |
Ross Lowis Mangles VC (14 April 1833 – 28 February 1905) was a British administrator in India and the recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Mangles is one of only five civilians to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
Mangles was the son of Ross Donnelly Mangles, sometime chairman of the East India Company.[1] He was educated at Windlesham House School, Brighton (1842–43),[2] Bath Grammar School and East India Company College (1851–52).[3] He took up a place in the Bengal Civil Service in 1853.[4]
He was 24 years old, and a civilian in the Bengal Civil Service during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place at Arrah for which he was awarded the VC:
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum, Chelsea, England.
Mangles held various positions in India, including those Judicial Commissioner of Mysore, Secretary to the Government of Bengal, and member of the Board of Revenue of the Lower Provinces. He retired from Indian service in 1883, having completed thirty years' service, and returned to England, where he was a justice of the peace for Surrey. He died at his residence, The Lodge, Pirbright, Surrey, on 28 February 1905.[5] He is buried in Brookwood Cemetery. On the north wall of St Michael and All Angels Church, Pirbright is a brass memorial to Mangles. The oaks on the plaque represent England, his native land; the palms are for India, scene of his life's work; his passion for growing roses after his retirement is also commemorated.[6]
Mangles married in 1860 Henrietta Molyneux, youngest daughter of James More Molyneux, of Loseley Park, Surrey.