Hicks, William, 1830-1883

Colonel William Hicks (1830 – 5 November 1883), also known as Hicks Pasha, was a British army officer who joined the Bombay Army in 1849, and served through the Indian Rebellion of 1857, being mentioned in dispatches for good conduct at the action of Sitka Ghaut in 1859. In 1861 he became captain, and in the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia was a brigade major, being again mentioned in dispatches and given a brevet majority. He retired with the honorary rank of colonel in 1880. He then entered the service of the Egyptian government, who controlled Sudan. He led the Egyptian army that was defeated at the Battle of Shaykan, in which he was killed and decapitated.