- Samuel Wassall
Samuel Wassall VC (July
1856 -31 January 1927 ) was an English 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 22 years old, and a private in the
80th Regiment (laterThe South Staffordshire Regiment ),British Army during theZulu War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.On
22 January 1879 atIsandlwana ,Zululand ,South Africa , when the camp was taken by the enemy, Private Wassall retreated towards the Buffalo River. There he saw a comrade struggling and apparently drowning. He rode to the bank and dismounted, leaving his horse on the Zulu side. He then rescued the man, mounted his horse and dragged his comrade across the river under a heavy shower of bullets.His descendant "Genial Johnny Wassall", now living in Weoley Castle,Birmingham,is a veteren of the Falklands War, and the first Gulf War in Iraq, where he Served With The Special Air Service [SAS] and was commended for his bravery by General H Norman Schwarzkopf Allied commander.The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the
Museum of the Staffordshire Regiment "(Lichfield, Staffordshire, England)".References
*
Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)External links
* [http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/cumbria.htm Location of grave and VC medal] "(Cumbria)"
* [http://www.rwassell.com/samindex.html Various information relating to his life, his award and his death] Collated by Rob Wassell as part of his genealogy site
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
