- William James Lendrim
William James Lendrim VC (
January 1 ,1830 -November 28 ,1891 ) was bornLisburn ,County Antrim ,Ireland and was an Irish recipient of theVictoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.Details
He was 25 years old, and a
Corporal in theCorps of Royal Engineers ,British Army during theCrimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.On
14 February 1855 during the Siege of Sevastopol,Crimea , Corporal Lendrim superintended 150 FrenchChasseur s in building No. 9 Battery left attack and replacing the whole of the capsizedgabion s under a heavy fire. On11 April he got on top of a magazine under fire, and extinguished burning sandbags, making good the breach. On20 April he was one of four volunteers who destroyed the screen which the Russians had erected to conceal their advance rifle-pits.Further information
He later achieved the rank of
Sergeant-Major , and worked at the Staff College,Frimley . He married Louisa and had 11 children - all alive in 1881. William diedCamberley ,Surrey ,28 November 1891 and is buried atRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst , plot 182. William also received theLégion d'honneur andMédaille militaire of France.The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the
Royal Engineers Museum "(Chatham, England)".References
Listed in order of publication year
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
*The Irish Sword (Brian Clarke 1986)
*Irelands VCs ISBN 1-899243-00-3 (Dept of Economic Development 1995)
*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)External links
* [http://www.remuseum.org.uk/rem_his_vc.htm#1l Royal Engineers Museum] Sappers VCs
* [http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/surrey.htm Location of grave and VC medal] "(Surrey)"
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