George Richardson (VC)

George Richardson
Born	(1831-08-01)1 August 1831 Derrylane, Killeshandra, County Cavan
Died	28 January 1923(1923-01-28) (aged 91) London, Ontario, Canada
Buried	Prospect Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	34th Regiment of Foot
Battles/wars	Indian Mutiny Fenian Raids
Awards	Victoria Cross

George Richardson VC (1 August 1831 – 28 January 1923) was born in Derrylane, Killeshandra, County Cavan the son of John and Anne Richardson. He became an Irish recipient of 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.

Details

He was 27 years old, and a private in the 34th Regiment of Foot (later The Border Regiment), British Army during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC:

At Kewanie, Trans-Gogra, on the 27th of April. 1859, for determined courage in having, although severely wounded,—one arm being disabled,—closed with and secured a Rebel Sepoy armed with a loaded revolver.

He emigrated to Canada and joined a Canadian army unit and achieved the rank of sergeant. He died London, Ontario, Canada on 28 January 1923.

References

• The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
• Clarke, Brian D. H. (1986). "A register of awards to Irish-born officers and men". The Irish Sword. XVI (64): 185–287.
• Ireland's 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)
• Irregular correspondence
• Breifne Journal 2015 (Journal of Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne); Victoria Cross recipients from County Cavan

External links

• George Richardson at Find a Grave