- Peter Gill (VC)
Peter Gill VC (September 1831-
26 July 1868 ) was born in St Paul's Parish,Dublin 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
Gill was approximately 25 years old, and a
Sergeant-Major in theLoodiana Regiment , during theIndian Mutiny .On
4 June 1857 atBenares ,India , Sergeant-Major Gill volunteered, with another Sergeant-Major,Matthew Rosamund , and a private, John Kirk, to rescue a paymaster and his family from their bungalow and take them to the safety of the barracks. During the same evening he saved the life of a Quartermaster-Sergeant by cutting off the head of thesepoy who had just bayoneted him. He is also said to have twice saved the life of a Major who was being attacked by sepoys.Peter later achieved the rank of
lieutenant .He was killed in action, Moror,
Gwalior ,Madhya Pradesh , India, on 26 July 1868.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)
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