John Taylor, (1822 – 25 February 1857) was a sailor in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and an English 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 the ...

forces.

Royal Navy

Taylor was about 33 years old, and a

captain of the forecastle A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...

in the

, serving in the Naval Brigade, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the

(VC). On 18 June 1855 on the

Crimean Peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...

, immediately after the assault on

Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, a soldier of the 57th Regiment, who had been wounded in both legs, was observed sitting up and calling for help. At once the second-in-command,

Henry James Raby Rear-Admiral Henry James Raby (26 September 1827 – 13 February 1907) was a 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 fo ...

, of the scaling party, another seaman,

Henry Curtis Henry Curtis Victoria Cross, VC (21 December 1822 – 23 November 1896) was an England, English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to United ...

, and Captain of the Forecastle Taylor left the shelter of their battery works and ran forward a distance of 70 yards, across open ground, through heavy gunfire and succeeded in carrying the wounded man to safety.

Later life and legacy

John Taylor's Cross is held in the Sheesh Mahal Collection in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

, India. The group formed part of the Maharaja Bhupendra Singh's collection, which was bequeathed to the Museum on the death of the Maharajah's son in 1947, and consists of the VC,

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly aw ...

, China War Medal 1842, India General Service Medal 1854 clasp Pegu, Crimea Medal with clasps Inkermann and Sebastopol,

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

and Turkish Crimea Medal. Taylor was buried in

Woolwich cemetery Woolwich cemetery is a cemetery in southeast London, situated south-east of Woolwich, in Kings Highway, Plumstead, on land that was formerly part of Plumstead Common. The first cemetery, which is sometimes referred to as the Woolwich Old Cemetery ...

in southeast London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John 1822 births 1857 deaths Military personnel from Bristol Royal Navy sailors British recipients of the Victoria Cross Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy personnel of the First Opium War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Burmese War Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal Knights of the Legion of Honour