Thomas Esmonde, VC (25 May 1829 – 14 January 1872) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and an Irish 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 ...

(VC), 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.

Early life and family

Esmonde was born in Pembrokestown,

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

, the son of Commander James Esmonde of 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 ...

. His older brother was

Sir John Esmonde, 10th Baronet Sir John Esmonde, 10th Baronet (16 May 1826 – 9 December 1876) was an Irish nationalist politician. He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1852 until his death 25 years later. Early life and family Esmonde was the son o ...

, and he was the great-uncle of

Eugene Esmonde Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde, (1 March 1909 – 12 February 1942) was a distinguished Irish pilot in the Fleet Air Arm who was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awa ...

, who was to be awarded the Victoria Cross in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Esmonde was educated at the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

-run

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Yo ...

, County Kildare, from 1840 to 1846. In 1851 he was commissioned as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the 18th Royal Irish Regiment and served with them in the Second Burmese and

Crimean 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 pop ...

Wars, gaining promotion to captain in April 1855.

VC action

Esmonde was a 26 years old

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

18th Regiment of Foot 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

(later The Royal Irish Regiment) in the British Army during the siege of Sebastopol,

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 deeds took place on the 18 and 20 June 1855 for which he was awarded the VC: For his Crimean service, Esmonde was also made a

Brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

Major in December 1857. He received his VC from Queen Victoria on 2 August 1858 at Southsea, Hampshire.

Later years

In November 1858, Esmonde married Matilda O’Kelly, with whom he had five children. In May 1865 he was appointed Deputy Inspector-General of the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

, while remaining in the army on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the Eng ...

on the unattached list, where he was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in December 1868. He formally retired from the army in April 1871. While out hunting in Belgium, Esmonde suffered a severe eye injury when his horse rode into a bush. This led to his hospitalisation and ultimately caused his death in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

on 14 January 1872, at St Julian's Hospital. He was buried at the Central Cemetery of Bruges. In 2017 his grave was restored by volunteers from the Victoria Cross Trust. Esmonde’s medals, including his VC, are in the possession of the Esmonde family, and have been loaned to the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

in London for display in the Ashcroft Gallery.

Literature

* Roland ROTSAERT ''Thomas Esmonde en zijn graf op de Centrale Begraafplaats'', in: Brugs Ommeland, 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Esmonde, Thomas People educated at Clongowes Wood College Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Crimean War British Army personnel of the Second Anglo-Burmese War Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922) officers Military personnel from County Waterford 1829 births 1872 deaths Irish officers in the British Army Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross