Captain Thomas James Young, VC (1827 – 20 March 1869) was a

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 ...

officer 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 forces.

Details

He was approximately 30 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

, serving with a Naval Brigade from during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 16 November 1857 at

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, naval guns were brought up close to the Shah Nujeff mosque, and the gun crews kept up a steady fire in an attempt to breach the walls, while a hail of musket balls and grenades from the mutineers inside the mosque caused heavy casualties. Lieutenant Young moved from gun to gun giving encouragement, and when he and Able Seaman William Hall were the only survivors, all the rest being killed or wounded, Lieutenant Young took the last gunner's place and between them they loaded and fired the gun. The joint citation reads: He later achieved the rank of captain. He married Louisa Mary Boyes, the sister of Duncan Gordon Boyes, who also won the Victoria Cross. Young died in Caen, France, and is buried in the Protestant Cemetery there. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

in Greenwich, London.Victoria Cross (MED2323)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Thomas James 1827 births 1869 deaths Royal Navy officers British recipients of the Victoria Cross Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Chelsea, London Royal Navy personnel of the Crimean War Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie Military personnel from London Burials in France