... To all of us who knew your gallant Brother so well, and to myself personally as an intimate friend, his death in action, nobly striving to aid a wounded comrade, has been a painful blow. He was so true and thorough a soldier that we had hoped for high distinction for him when we heard he had been sent to Kandahar, and his letters to me from that place were full of confidence. I am sure that we shall yet learn that however depressed and dispirited others may have been during the siege, that HENRY BROOKE was never down-hearted, or anything else, but as brave a soldier in life as he was in death.
From Col. W. Poona, Bombay, October, 1880.
By this time, of course, you have full particulars of your Brother's death, so it is needless for me to enter into the sad details, but amidst all this sorrow which this has caused you and his other relations, is the proud recollection that no man ever died more nobly, or as a soldier could wish for, whilst the high estimation in which he was held by all who knew him, must be a source of satisfaction to you all. For myself, I can only say that I sympathise most truly with you all in the affliction which has fallen on you, for though our acquaintance was not of long standing, we were for the time thrown much together, and in him I mourn a true friend, whose friendship and esteem it was an honor to possess, and whose untimely fate I shall always deplore.
From Captain E. Edinburgh, 20th November, 1880.
I was very glad to receive your kind note ... We were all very much grieved to hear of poor General BROOKE'S death under such sad circumstances, and for a time we had great anxiety regarding the safety of Kandahar, for we all knew and felt the great loss the garrison would sustain in his death, as he was one of the very few they had to trust to. I have heard several officers say, "BROOKE was the life and soul of the place during the siege."
From Lt.-Colonel White, V.C., C.B., 92nd Highlanders. 25th November, 1880.
Your Brother's death gave me a greater shock than any incident in the whole war. He died like the man I knew him to be, and as you and I would like to die when our time comes. It would be some consolation to you to hear the way he is spoken of by all who knew him--"about the only man who held his head up all through the Kandahar investment, and he had a cheery word and a helping hand for everyone." ...