Blowing up of the Cashmere Gate at Delhi, 14 Sept

Philip Salkeld VC (13 October 1830 – 10 October 1857) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. He was the first person to be awarded the

posthumously. He was born at the Rectory in

Fontmell Magna Fontmell Magna is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England. It is situated in the Blackmore Vale, close to the chalk hills of Cranborne Chase, on the A350 road south of Shaftesbury and north of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 cens ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England, educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, and is buried in the Old Delhi Military Cemetery,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Details

Salkeld was 26 years old, and a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the

Bengal Engineers The Bengal Engineer Group (BEG) (informally the Bengal Sappers or Bengal Engineers) is a military engineering regiment in the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The unit was originally part of the Bengal Army of the East India Company's B ...

, Bengal Army during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place for which he together with Duncan Charles Home was awarded the VC: He was killed in action at Delhi on 10 October 1857. Salkeld's companion at

, Robert Haydon Shebbeare also received the Victoria Cross on the same day for his action in the fourth column attacking Delhi at the Kabul Gate.

References

* ''

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 3 ...

'' (David Harvey, 1999) * ''

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fo ...

'' (This England, 1997) * ''

The Sapper VCs The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

'' (Gerald Napier, 1998)

External links

Royal Engineers Museum
Sappers VCs {{DEFAULTSORT:Salkeld, Philip 1830 births 1857 deaths People educated at King's College School, London British recipients of the Victoria Cross People from North Dorset District Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel killed in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 Bengal Engineers officers