Irish Victoria Cross Winners

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George Gardiner

Sebastopol, Crimea

22nd March 1855

George Gardiner was born in Warrenpoint, Co. Down in 1821. In 1855 he was a Sergeant in the 57th Foot fighting in the Crimea.

On 22nd March 1855, he rallied troops who were being driven out of their trenches by a Russian sortie from Sebastopol. On 18th June he performed a similar attck during an attackon the Redan.

George went on to become a Colour-Sergeant and serve in the Maori Wars. In addition to his Victoria Cross he earned a DCM. Gardiner died in Lifford, Co. Donegal on 17th November 1891 where he is buried in Clonleigh Churchyard. His VC is on display in Dover Castle.

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Alexander Wright

Sebastopol, Crimea

22nd March 1855

Alexander Wright was another northerner who won the VC. He was born in Ballymena, Co. Antrim in 1826 and earned his award for bravery in fighting off the same Russian sortie as George Gardiner.

Wright served in the 77th Foot and went on to serve in the Indian Mutiny. He died in Calcutta on 28th July 1858.

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Frederick Harvey

Guyencourt, France

27th March 1917

Frederick Harvey was born in Athboy, Co. Meath on 1st September 1888. He emigrated to Canada in 1908 and joined the Canadian Army on the outbreak of WW1, enlisting in the Canadian Mounted Rifles and later being commissioned into Lord Strathcona's Horse.

On 27th March 1917 his regiment was attacking the village of Guyencourt. Harvey charged a German Machine Gun that was causing heavy casualties to the Canadians, killing the gunner and capturing the gun. He was recommended for a DSO but the award was upgraded to a Victoria Cross.

Harvey went on to earn a Military Cross in 1918 and was later created a CBE. He stayed in the army after the war, commanded both Lord Strathcona's Horse and the Alberta Military district during WW2, retiring as a Brigadier General in 1945.

He died on 24th August 1980, aged 91 in Fort Macleod, Alberta and is buried in Union Cemetery. Harvey is one of three Irish Rugby internationals to have been awarded a Victoria Cross.

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Battle of Hlobane, South Africa

28th March, 1879

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Following the Battle of Isandlwana on 22nd January 1879, the only effective force left to the British was No 4 Column under the command of Col Evelyn Wood. Operating from a base camp at Kambula Wood raided north-western Zululand. The Zulu in turn counter raided and achieved some success, notably wiping out a company of 80th (Staffordshire Volunteers) Regiment of Foot under Captain David Moriarty, on the Ntombe River. Towards the middle of March Chelmsford ordered Wood to attack the local Zulu stronghold on a plateau called Hlobane Mountain, in order to draw off some of the Zulu forces besieging No 3 Column at Eshowe.

Woods plan was for a two-pronged attack on the mountain top. Lieutenant-Colonel Redvers Buller, of the 60th Rifles (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) was to lead theassault from the eastern end while that from the west would be under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Russell, 12th (The Prince of Wales’s Royal) Lancers. The forces commanded by these men were a hodge-podge of British regulars, local white militias and natives. The Zulu on the mountain knew that the Bitish were coming and were waiting behind cover and in caves for their arrival. In addition a Zulu impi of 20,000 men had been sent by King Cetshwayo to take part in the battle.

Buller’s force fought its way up a steep boulder-strewn track to the top of the mountain with some difficulty in the face of enemy fire. Once on the plateau they started to clear the mountain-top. As they were doing so Buller’s men met a small group of Russell’s force who informed Buller that Russell had been unable to get most of his troops up the mountain and had withdrawn. At about this stage Cetshwayo’s Zulu impi was spotted advancing on Hlobane.

Thing’s quickly fell asunder for the British. Confused messages were despatched by Wood and Buler that saw Russell retreat instaed of coming to Buller’s assistance while the Frontier Light Horse were mistakenly sent right into the Zulu impi and wiped out. Buller began a fighting retreat that covered several miles. Wood lost over 200 men dead in the disaster, including almost 20 officers.

Of the four VCs won by men who fought at Hlobane, two were awarded to Irish soldiers.

William Knox-Leet

Knox-Leet was born in Dalkey on 3rd November 1833. In 1879 he was a Major in 1st Battalion, 13th (Prince Albert’s Own Somersetshire) Light Infantry. On the retreat from Hlobane Knox-Leet rescued Lieutenant A. M. Smith of the Frontier Light Horse who had lost his horse and was about to be killed by the Zulus.

Knox-Leet was awarded a Victoria Cross. He was later promoted to Major-General and commanded his regiment’s 2nd Battalion in another disaster in Burma. He retired in 1887 and died in Kent on 29th June 1898. Heis buried in Great Chart Churchyard, Kent and his VC is in the Somerset Light Infantry Museum.

Edmund Fowler

Edmund Fowler was born in Waterford in 1861. In 1879 he was a Private in the 90th Foot.

As Buller’s force was fighting its way up the mountain, a Capt Campbell of Wood’s staff led Lt Lysons and Pte Fowler in an attack on a cave full of Zulus. Campbell was shot dead almost instantly but Lysons and Fowler fought their way into the cave and cleared it. Both were subsequently awarded a Victoria Cross.

Fowler stayed in the army and rose to the rank of Colour-Sergeant. He died in Colchester, Essex on 26th March 1926 and is buried in Colchester Cemetery. His VC is displayed in the Cameronians Regimental Museum, Scotland.

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William Coffey

Sebastopol, Crimea

29th March 1855

William Coffey was born in Knocklong, Co. Limerick on 5th August 1829. He joined the army in Fermoy in November 1846. His brother joined some years later and the two men ended up in the 34th Foot and served in the Crimea.

On 29th March 1855, William Coffey was in a trench at Sebastopol in which a Russian shell landed with its fuse burning. Coffey picked it up and threw it out of the trench, saving the lives of several men. He was awarded a Victoria Cross.

Coffey went on to serve 21 years in the army. He served in the Indian Mutiny, won a Distinguished Conduct Medal and rose to the rank of Sergeant. He died in Chesterfield on 13th July 1875 where he is buried in Spital Cemetery. His grave was unmarked until 1970 when the Border Regiment erected a headstone, which accounts for its similarity to a CWGC headstone. His VC is on display in the Bode Regt Museum.

www.williamcoffeyvc.org/

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James Byrne

Jhansi, India

3rd April 1858

James Byrne was born in Co. Wicklow in 1922. He served in the 86th Foot during the Indian Mutiny. On 3rd April 1858 during the attack on the Fort at Jhansi he carried a Lieutenant Sewell who had been badly wounded to safety, under very heavy fire, assisted by Captain Jerome. Both men were awarded the VC.

Byrne died in Dublin on 6th December 1872 and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery. His VC is in the Royal Ulster Rifles Museum, Belfast.

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Patrick Carlin

Azamgarh, India

6th April 1858

Carlin was born in Belfast in 1832. During the Indian Mutiny he served as 3611 Private Patrick Carlin, 13th Foot. On the 6th of April 1858 Carlin rescued a wounded Naik of the 4th Madras Rifles after killing a mutineer with a sword. He was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross.

Patrick Carlin died in Belfast Union Infirmary on 11th May 1895 and is buried in Friar's Bush graveyard, Belfast. His medal ison display in The Somerset Light Infantry Museum.

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Magdala Abyssinia

13th April 1868

On 13th April 1868 two Irishmen earned Victoria Crosses while fighting in one of the obscure wars of Empire that were fought during the reign of Queen Victoria. Tewodros II had been the Emperor of Ethiopia since 1855, By the early 1860s he was fighting revolts against many his subjects and he appealed for help from the major European powers including Britain. His appeals fell on deaf ears and Tewodros (or Theodore) made the mistake of taking hostages from European missionaries in Abyssinia, including two British subjects. The British decided to send a punitive expedition to put manners on Tewodros in 1867, assigning the task to Sir Robert Napier of the East India Company’s Bombay Army. Napier led 13,000 British and Indian troops plus 26,000 camp followers to Abysinia wher ehis engineers had to build a port, lay a railway and organise a 400 mile cross country march on the Emperor’s capital at Magdala.

The British force arrived at Magdala on Good Friday, 10th April 1868. That afternoon and the following day they thrashed the Emperor’s Army, killing 700 Ethiopians for the loss of two men. Tewodros released his hostages and then committed suicide as the British stormed his fortress on Easter Monday, 13th April.

The 33rd Foot was the regiment tasked with forcing the way through the fortress gate at Magdala. Held up in the attempt, several men scaled a cliff, broke through a thorn fence and attacked the gate’s defenders from the rear. In this group, the first men to enter Magdala, were two Irish soldiers, James Bergin and Michael Magner.

James Bergin

James Bergin was born on 29th June 1845 in Kilbricken, Co. Laois. He was Private in the 33rd Foot at Magdala. Bergin died in Poona, India on 1st December 1880. His VC is on display in the Duke of Wellington's Regiment Museum in Halifax, Yorkshire.
The photograph is from the museum website but shows Bergin in Highland uniform.

Michael Magner

Michael Magner was born in Fermanagh on 21st June 1840. He was Drummer when he won his VC although he later became a Corporal. He died in Melbourne, Australia on 6th February 1897 and is buried in Melbourne General Cemetery. His VC is on display in the Museum Victoria in Melbourne.

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Joseph Bradshaw

Sebastopol, Crimea

22nd April 1855

Born in Dromkeen, Co. Limerick in 1835, Bradshaw was a Private in The Rifle Brigade during the Crimean War.

On 22nd April 1855, Bradshaw, along with another soldier, captured and destroyed a Russian rifle pit overlooking the Woronzoff Road. Both men were awarded the Victoria Cross.

Joseph Bradshaw died in Limerick on 29th August 1893 but his burial location is unknown. His VC is on display in the Royal Green Jackets Museum, Winchester.

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O'Moore Creagh

Kam Dakka, Afghanistan

22nd April 1879

Creagh was a Captain in the Bombay Staff Corps when he won his Victoria Cross during the Second Afghan War. On 21st April he commanded two companies of Infantry in occupying the village of Kam Dakka. On the following day his men were attacked by around 1500 Afghans, including the residents of the village. Outnumbered ten to one, Creagh withdrew to the village cemetery and held off the attackers for several hours until relieved.

Garret O'Moore Creagh was born in Co. Clare on 2nd April 1848. He was commissioned into the 95th Foot in 1866, went to India in 1869 and transferred to the Indian Army in 1870. After the Afghan War he rose to the rank of General and eventually to Commander in Chief India in 1909 before retiring in 1914. He was knighted in 1904 and died in London on 9th August 1923. He is buried in East Sheen Cemetery and his VC is on display in the National Army Museum, London.

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John Gough

Daratoleh, British Somaliland

22nd April 1903

John Gough was a member of two rare breeds. He was one of three VCs in his family, his father Charles and uncle Hugh having also received the medal in the Indian Mutiny and also one of only three father and son VCs.

Gough was a Brevet Major in The Rifle Brigade, serving in Somaliland in 1903. On 22nd April that year he was in command of a column that was attacked by Somalis. During a fighting withdrawal, Gough assisted two officers in an attempted rescue of a wounded man. Gough and his companions were awarded the Victoria Cross.

John Gough was born in India on 25th October 1871. His family came from the Clonmel area. He was commissioned into The Rifle Brigade and served during several campaigns in Africa, including the Boer War. He instructed at the Staff College immediately prior to WW1 and went to France with the BEF as Chief of Staff in Haig’s I Corps.

He was earmarked for command of a New Army Division when he was fatally wounded by a sniper at Fauquissart on 20th February 1915. He died two days later and was buried in Estaires Communal Cemetery. He has memorials in Winchester Cathedral and in Marlfield Church, Co. Tipperary while his VC is on display in the Royal Green Jackets Museum, Winchester.

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William Cosgrove

V Beach, Gallipoli

26th April 1915

William Cosgrove was born into a farming family on 1st October 1888 near Aghada, Co. Cork. In 1909 he enlisted in the 1st battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers with the regimental number 8980. He was serving in Burma when WW1 broke out. The battalion was shipped back to England where they formed part of 29th Division and began training for the Gallipoli campaign.

On 25th April 1915, the 1st Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers landed at V Beach, near Sedd-el-Bahr, Gallipoli, from the River Clyde. They suffered many casualties during the landing and failed to advance beyond the beach that day. The following day, the 26th, Cosgrove was one of a 50-man group under the RSM detailed to cut the Turkish barbed wire defences in front of Sedd-el-Bahr. Under heavy fire and with their wire-cutters making no impact on the wire Cosgrove stood up and began pulling up the posts that held the wire. He was wounded during this act and subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross.

After the war Cosgrove served on in the army transferring to the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1922 and later serving in India until he retired in 1934. Shortly afterwards he became seriously ill and it was discovered that Turkish shrapnel which surgeons had missed during operations in Malta was affecting his health. William Cosgrove died on 14th July 1936 at Millbank Hospital, London. He was buried in Upper Aghada Cemetery, Co. Cork and his medals are in a private collection.

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The Andaman Islands Expedition

On 21st March 1867 the captain and seven men of a merchant ship the Assam Valley went ashore on Little Andaman Island in the Bay of Bengal for wood. They didn’t return and after a couple of days had elapsed the Assam Valleysailed for Rangoon where they reported the event.

Over the next few week a couple of efforts were made to locate the missing men, without success. The last expedition was headed by the British Officer in Charge of the Andamanese and this was attacked by the Onge, the local people who had little or no contact with the outside world and were believed to be cannibals. On May 7th 1867 a military party was sent to the island. Three boatloads of soldiers went ashore where they found the remains of four men on the beach. Here they were attacked by a large group of Onge. A small battle ensued, with the men, who were from the 24th Foot trapped on the beach, unable to leave because of heavy surf. A rescue boat from their ship capsized and the officer in charge was drowned.

Finally the regimental surgeon and four men of the regiment sailed a boat through the surf and reefs to the rescue of the men on the beach, having to make three trips to do so. All five were subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross. Three of the men were from Ireland. Their VC awards are unusual in that they were not awarded for bravery in action against the enemy, but for performing a rescue at sea.

David Bell

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Born in Co. Down in 1845, Bell was a Private in 2nd Bn, 24th Foot. He later became a Sergeant and died in Gillingham, Kent on 7th March 1920. His VC is displayed in the South Wales Borderers Museum, Wales.

Thomas Murphy

A Dubliner born in 1839, Murphy was a Private in 2nd Bn, 24th Foot. He died in Philadelphia on 23rd March 1900.

William Griffiths

Born in Roscommon in 1841. Griffiths was killed at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22nd January 1879, still serving in 24th Foot.

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George Forrest

Delhi, India

11th May 1857

George Forrest was born in Dublin in 1800. In 1857 he was a Lieutenant in the Bengal Veteran Establishment. On the 11th May 1857 at the start of the Indian Mutiny he, along with eight other men defended the Magazine in Delhi Fort for more than five hours against a large number of rebels. When the attackers scaled the walls the defenders set fire to the Magazine. Five of them were killed in the resulting explosion and another died of injuries.

Forrest survived, but died in Dehra Dun, India on 3rd November 1859.

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Hugh Burgoyne

Sea of Azov, Crimea

29th May 1855

Hugh Burgoyne was born in Dublin on 17th July 1833, the son of a Colonel in the Royal Engineers. During the Crimean War he was a Lieutenant on board HMS Swallow. On 29th May 1855 he, along with another officer and a sailor volunteered to go ashore to destroy Russian supplies of food and ammunition, for which they were awarded the Victoria Cross.

Burgoyne was later promoted to Captain and commanded HMS Captain, an experimental warship. His ship capsized in a gale off Cape Finisterre on 7th September 1870 with the loss of 480 lives, including Burgoyne. Only 18 men survived the disaster.
Burgoyne is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.

www.hmscaptain.co.uk/The%20Story/Main%20Characters/hugh%20burgoyne.htm