Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Francis Edward Henry Farquharson VC (25 March 1837 – 12 September 1875) was a Scottish 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 A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Early life

He was born in Glasgow on 25 March 1837 the son of Robert Farquharson, a thread manufacturer living at 7 St James Place.

Details

He was 20 years old, and a lieutenant in the

42nd Regiment of Foot The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disband ...

(later The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)), British Army during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

when the following deed took place on 9 March 1858 at Lucknow, India for which he was awarded the VC:

Later life

He later achieved the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He fell ill during the

Ashanti campaign The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victorio ...

of 1874 and retired from active service. He died at Dundrige in

Harberton Harberton is a village, civil parish and former manor 3 miles south west of Totnes, in the South Hams District of Devon, England. The parish includes the village of Harbertonford situated on the main A381 road. In the 2001 census the parish h ...

in Devonshire on 12 September 1875. He is buried a few metres east of the entrance to St Andrew's Church in Harberton.A stained glass window to his memory lies within the church. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Black Watch Museum Balhousie Castle, located in Perth, Scotland (on Hay Street, originally a few hundred metres north of the medieval town), was built in the 17th century. History The castle was built in 1631, although its origins are believed to go back a further ...

Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...

together with his four other campaign medals: the Crimea Medal ( Sebastopol);

Indian Mutiny Medal __NOTOC__ The Indian Mutiny Medal was a campaign medal approved in August 1858, for officers and men of British and Indian units who served in operations in suppression of the Indian Mutiny. The medal was initially sanctioned for award to troops ...

(Lucknow);

Ashanti Medal The Ashanti Medal was sanctioned in October 1901 and was the first campaign medal authorised by Edward VII. This medal was created for those troops engaged in the Third Ashanti Expedition, also known as the War of the Golden Stool. This expedition ...

(Coomassie); and the Turkish Crimea Medal.

Artistic Recognition

He was painted with fellow officers by

Orlando Norie Orlando Norie (1832–1901), artist of military subjects, was perhaps the most prolific painter of the British army in the 19th century along with Richard Simkin. It has been estimated that Norie alone painted well over 5,000 pictures. Although ...

References

* Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) * The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) *

Scotland's Forgotten Valour ''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' is a 1995 book by Graham Ross, published by MacLean Press under . (The typography of the title on the book uses capitalisation to contrast emphasis ("SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR"), to communicate additional meanin ...

(Graham Ross, 1995)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Devonshire)'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farquharson, Francis Edward Henry 1837 births 1875 deaths Military personnel from Glasgow British recipients of the Victoria Cross Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross 42nd Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Ashanti War British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross