John Byrne, VC,DCM (September 1832 – 10 July 1879) was a British Army soldier and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Byrne was about 22 years old, and a private in the 68th Regiment of Foot (later The Durham Light Infantry), British Army during the Crimean War. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Inkerman on 5 November 1854 on the Crimean Peninsula. When his regiment was ordered to retire, Private Byrne went back towards the enemy, and, at the risk of his own life, brought in a wounded soldier, under fire. On 11 May 1855 he bravely engaged in a hand-to-hand contest with one of the enemy on the parapet of the work he was defending, prevented the entrance of the enemy, killed his antagonist, and captured his arms.[1]
The only medal on display is his New Zealand campaign medal, held in the Durham Light Infantry Museum.
A Victoria Cross medal (missing the suspender bar and ribbon) was found by Tobias Neto in the mud of the River Thames on 17 December 2015, the medal having the date of "November 5, 1854" engraved on the reverse. Of the 16 VCs awarded for actions during the Battle of Inkerman, two were unaccounted for—those won by John Byrne and John McDermond of the 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot, the other 14 being in private collections or museums. However, in an article published on the UK Detector Net web forum, the finder is seen to claim that the medal was established as that awarded to John Byrne, but on the basis of its dated reverse and not the critical suspension bar which bears the awardee's name, rank, serial number and regiment. It remains possible the recipient could have been McDermond or Byrne. [3]
^"The Crown Inn, Maindee, Newport". historypoints.org. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
^Sawer, Patrick (21 January 2017). "Discovery of lost VC reveals stories of heroism and tragedy". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
Sourcesedit
John Byrne at Find-A-Grave
Biography, lightinfantry.me.uk
May 01, 2024
john, byrne, john, byrne, september, 1832, july, 1879, british, army, soldier, irish, recipient, victoria, cross, highest, award, gallantry, face, enemy, that, awarded, british, commonwealth, forces, john, byrnedepiction, battle, inkermanborn, 1832, september,. John Byrne VC DCM September 1832 10 July 1879 was a British Army soldier and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces John ByrneDepiction of the battle of InkermanBorn 1832 09 00 September 1832Castlecomer County Kilkenny IrelandDied10 July 1879 1879 07 10 aged 46 Caerleon Monmouthshire WalesBuriedSt Woolos Cemetery WalesAllegianceUnited KingdomService wbr branchBritish ArmyYears of service1850 1872RankSergeantUnit68th Regiment of FootBattles warsCrimean WarNew Zealand WarsAwardsVictoria CrossDistinguished Conduct Medal Contents 1 Life 2 The medal 3 References 4 SourcesLife editByrne was born at Castlecomer County Kilkenny in Ireland in September 1832 Byrne was about 22 years old and a private in the 68th Regiment of Foot later The Durham Light Infantry British Army during the Crimean War He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Inkerman on 5 November 1854 on the Crimean Peninsula When his regiment was ordered to retire Private Byrne went back towards the enemy and at the risk of his own life brought in a wounded soldier under fire On 11 May 1855 he bravely engaged in a hand to hand contest with one of the enemy on the parapet of the work he was defending prevented the entrance of the enemy killed his antagonist and captured his arms 1 He later achieved the rank of corporal He died aged 46 in Newport Wales 2 The medal editThe only medal on display is his New Zealand campaign medal held in the Durham Light Infantry Museum A Victoria Cross medal missing the suspender bar and ribbon was found by Tobias Neto in the mud of the River Thames on 17 December 2015 the medal having the date of November 5 1854 engraved on the reverse Of the 16 VCs awarded for actions during the Battle of Inkerman two were unaccounted for those won by John Byrne and John McDermond of the 47th Lancashire Regiment of Foot the other 14 being in private collections or museums However in an article published on the UK Detector Net web forum the finder is seen to claim that the medal was established as that awarded to John Byrne but on the basis of its dated reverse and not the critical suspension bar which bears the awardee s name rank serial number and regiment It remains possible the recipient could have been McDermond or Byrne 3 References edit No 21971 The London Gazette 24 February 1857 p 661 The Crown Inn Maindee Newport historypoints org Retrieved 6 July 2017 Sawer Patrick 21 January 2017 Discovery of lost VC reveals stories of heroism and tragedy The Telegraph London Retrieved 22 January 2017 Sources editJohn Byrne at Find A Grave Biography lightinfantry me uk Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Byrne VC amp oldid 1203833441, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
