Surgeon Valentine Munbee McMaster VC (16 May 1834 – 22 January 1872) was 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 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.

Life

McMaster was born in

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bei ...

in India and later graduated from the

University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinar ...

with an MD. He entered the army as an assistant surgeon in March 1855 and joined the

78th Highlanders The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. Hi ...

, serving in the Persian War in 1857, before returning with the regiment to India at the beginning of the Indian Mutiny. Here, the 78th joined General Havelock’s column that advanced to relieve the siege of Lucknow.

VC action

McMaster was a 23 years old assistant surgeon in the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot (later The Seaforth Highlanders) during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place on 25 September 1857, at the first relief of Lucknow for which he was awarded the VC: McMaster was presented with the his cross by Lieutenant General Henry Somerset in Bombay later that year. McMaster was awarded one of the eight VCs to the 78th Regiment for the Indian Mutiny. None of the awards to the 78th Regiment and no awards to Medical Officers during the Indian Mutiny were recommended under the ballot method provided in Clause 13 of the Victoria Cross Warrant.

Later years

In September 1860 McMaster transferred from the 78th Highlanders to be assistant surgeon of the

6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons The 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1689 as Sir Albert Cunningham's Regiment of Dragoons. One of the regiment's most notable battles was the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690. It became the ...

, moving to the 18th Hussars in June 1864. Promoted to the rank of staff-surgeon in March 1868, he returned to the 78th Highlanders in March 1869. The same year, the 78th were posted to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, where McMaster married Eleanor Burmester in June 1870. They has two sons, one born after McMaster's death. In November 1871 the 78th moved to Belfast where, on 22 January 1872, McMaster died of heart disease aged 37. He was buried in

Belfast City Cemetery Belfast City Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Chathair Bhéal Feirste) is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and Springfield Road, near Milltown Cemetery. It is maintained by ...

. There is a memorial to his memory in St. Columb's Cathedral in Derry. McMaster's widow Eleanor returned to Canada, where she married Canadian surgeon

Campbell Mellis Douglas Campbell Mellis Douglas (5 August 1840, in Quebec City – 31 December 1909), was a Canadian 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 Commo ...

, who had won the VC in the 1867 Andaman Islands expedition.RAMC Journal

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National War Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle.

References

Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross List of Irish Victoria Cross recipients lists all recipients of the Victoria Cross (post-nominal letters "VC") born on the island of Ireland, together with the date and place of their VC action. The Victoria Cross is the highest war honour of ...

(Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000) *

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)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Belfast, Northern Ireland)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMaster, Valentine Munbee 1834 births 1872 deaths 78th Highlanders officers 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons officers 18th Royal Hussars officers Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army regimental surgeons Military personnel from Tiruchirappalli British military personnel of the Umbeyla Campaign British military personnel of the Anglo-Persian War British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Burials at Belfast City Cemetery British people in colonial India