the Victoria Cross,
the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the
enemy
that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
.
 John Simpson Knox was born 30 Sept.1828 in
King Street, Calton, Glasgow, Scotland.(King Street was renamed Millroad Street) Being very tall for his age, he enlisted, under-age, in the British Army, joining the Scots Fusiliers Guards on the 15th May 1843 at the age of fourteen and a half. He swiftly rose through the ranks and was promoted to corporal before reaching the age of 18, eventually reaching the rank of Drill Sergeant on 7th July 1853. The British and French forces began to land on the Crimean Peninsula on 14 September 1854. On 19 September the combined forces moved off toward Sebastopol and on 20 September came the first major engagement of the campaign, the Battle of the Alma. He won his VC on 20 September 1854 when aged 25yrs at the Battle of the Alma & Sebastopol, Crimea in the Crimean War campaign On 18 June 1855, he volunteered for the ladder party in the attack on the Redan, an attempt to finish the Siege of Sevastopol, he was struck by a Russian cannonball, removing part of his left arm. His actions that day also contributed toward his receiving the VC. His Crimea Medal shows that he also fought at the Battle of Balaclava and the Battle of Inkerman. . His VC
citation read: War Office, 24th February, 1857.
VC Presented 26 June 1857 by Queen Victoria at Hyde Park, London, England. ========================
Despite the loss of his arm, he continued to serve, and was appointed an Instructor of Musketry on 7 January 1858, and promoted captain on 30 April. He married Miss Louisa Harriet Gale in 1862, who bore him seven children. On 15 June 1866 he was appointed Inspector of Musketry for the South Western District. He briefly returned to regimental duties from 22 January 1872, and on his retirement from the army on 8 June 1872 was granted a brevet majority. He took up residence at Cheltenham. When he retired from the army in 1872 he became Governor of Cardiff Gaol, then Kirkdale Gaol in Liverpool, before retiring from the Prison Service in April 1892. .DIED 8 January 1897 Aged 70 At
his home, 6 Oriel Terrace, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
The lot, also included three other medals, two portraits, a cap badge and a belt plate They sold for £252,000 ($387,500).
..
. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
.
