James Williams Adams VC (24 November 1839 – 20 October 1903) was an Irish Anglican chaplain and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest 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 th ...

forces. He was the first clergyman, and the last of five civilians, to be awarded the VC.

Early life

Adams was born in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Ireland on 24 November 1839. He was the only son of James O'Brien Adams, magistrate, and his wife, Elizabeth Williams. He was educated at

Hamblin and Porter's Grammar School Hamblin and Porter's School was a private school in South Mall, Cork City, Ireland. Its pupils came mainly from merchant classes and Church of Ireland backgrounds. Students pursued classical subjects, with many students matriculated at Trinity C ...

, Cork and

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

and ordained in 1863. His first curacy was in

Hyde, Hampshire Hyde is a village and civil parish in the New Forest near Fordingbridge in Hampshire, England. Overview The parish of Hyde is mostly within the boundary of the New Forest National Park.

, from 1863 to 1865 and then at

Shottesbrooke Shottesbrooke is a hamlet and civil parish administered by the unitary authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. The hamlet is mostly rural: 88% covered by agriculture or woodland and had a po ...

, Berkshire, from 1865 to 1866. In October 1866 Adams became a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

on the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

establishment under Bishop

Robert Milman Robert Milman (25 January 1816 – 15 February 1876) was an Anglican bishop in the second half of the 19th century. He was born at Easton in Gordano, Somerset the third son of Sir William George Milman, 2nd Baronet, of Levaton in Devonshire an ...

at Calcutta.

Victoria Cross

Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

James Williams Adams was 40 years old, and a

in the

Bengal Ecclesiastical Department The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Govern ...

(serving as chaplain to the Kabul Field Force), British Indian Army during the

Second Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

when on 11 December 1879 he carried out the actions for which he was awarded the VC. The citation was published in a supplement to the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

'' of 24 August 1881 (dated 26 August 1881) and read: For the above actions Adams was recommended for the VC by Lord Roberts. Along with the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

chaplains who also accompanied the force, Adams was three times

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

during the campaign. He received his medal from Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace on 1 December 1881.

Later career and life

In 1885 he accompanied the field force under Lord Roberts in Burma, and he took part in the operations there. Returning to England he was the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Postwick (1887–94) and

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

Stow Bardolph Stow Bardolph, sometimes simply referred to as Stow, is an estate and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, lying between King's Lynn and Downham Market on the A10. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,014 in 421 households ...

(1895–1902) in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

. In 1902 he was instituted rector of Ashwell,

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest l ...

. Adams was appointed an honorary chaplain to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

on 7 May 1900, and following the Prince's accession as

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

he was confirmed in the post of honorary chaplain to the King on 23 July 1901. After the resignation of Reverend

Handley Moule Handley Carr Glyn Moule (23 December 18418 May 1920) was an evangelical Anglican theologian, writer, poet, and Bishop of Durham from 1901 to 1920. Biography Moule was schooled at home before entering Trinity College, Cambridge in 1860, wher ...

to become bishop in September 1901, Adams was appointed one of twelve chaplains-in-ordinary to the King. Adams died on 20 October 1903 and was buried on 24 October in the churchyard of

St Mary's Church, Ashwell, Rutland St Mary's Church is a Church of England parish church in Ashwell, Rutland. It is a Grade I listed building. History The church has a restored chancel with northern and southern chapels. The church has northern and southern aisles, a southern ch ...

where he was rector. His grave was restored in 2007. On 16 August 1881 at

Iver Heath Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park. Geography, transport and economy Part of the 43-square-m ...

, he married Alice Mary, eldest daughter of

Sir Thomas Willshire, 1st Baronet General Sir Thomas Willshire, 1st Baronet, (24 August 1789 – 31 May 1862) was a British Army officer. He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the eldest surviving son of Captain John Willshire by Mary, daughter of William Linden of Dublin. H ...

; they had a daughter, Edith, who married

Geoffry Northcote Sir Geoffry Alexander Stafford Northcote, KCMG KStJ (羅富國;9 February 1881 – 10 July 1948) was a British colonial administrator. Early life, education, and early colonial services career Northcote was the son of Reverend the Hon. Arthur F ...

References

External links

Burial location of James Adams
''(Rutland)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, James Williams Military personnel from County Cork Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Cork (city) Irish military chaplains 19th-century Irish Anglican priests 1839 births 1903 deaths Irish soldiers in the British Indian Army Second Anglo-Afghan War recipients of the Victoria Cross 20th-century Irish Anglican priests Honorary Chaplains to the King Second Anglo-Afghan War chaplains British Indian Army chaplains Alumni of Trinity College Dublin People from Stow Bardolph People from Ashwell, Rutland Burials in Rutland People from Broadland (district)

Early life

Victoria Cross

Later career and life

See also

References

External links