Why was he awarded the Victoria Cross?
With William
Jones, he defended one of the wards of the hospital until six
of the seven patients had been removed. The seventh man was delirious,
and all attempts to induce him to leave were in vain and he was
stabbed to death by a Zulu. He was 21 at the time of the defence.
Further Information
Born at Raglan,
Monmouthshire in August 1857. He enlisted into 2/24th on 10 January
1876 aged 19. After Rorke's Drift
he continued his service in India with 2nd Battalion. He transferred
to the army reserve in 1882. He subsequently returned to farm labouring
at Peterchurch in Herefordshire. There he married at local girl
- Elizabeth Hopkins in 1885 and they had five children.
In the summer
of 1898, he complained of headaches. On 6 September that year, he
was found dead with a shotgun wound. He received his VC from Sir
Garnet Wolseley at Utrecht on 11th September 1879. (His VC, along
with many others is thought to be in the hands of the wealthy industrialist,
Michael Ashcroft).
Further Information
supplied by the South
Wales Borderers Museum, Brecon.
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