William James Thompson (1830 – 5 December 1891) 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

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and

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forces.

Details

Thompson was about 27 years old, and a

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in the 1st Battalion, 60th Rifles (

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

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 ...

during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

when the following deed took place on 9 July 1857 at

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 w ...

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 ...

Thompson was one of five men of the 1/60th elected under Section 13 of the Royal Warrant to receive the Victoria Cross for the Siege of Delhi. Two months later he was badly wounded in the assault on Delhi on 14 September 1857, the opening day of the battle that lasted until 20 September 1857 when the city was cleared of insurgents. His left arm was amputated and he was invalided out of the Army. The citation, published in the ''London Gazette'' of 20 January 1860, concludes with a commendation for his ‘conspicuous conduct throughout the siege’. The citation does not specify Delhi and some sources have interpreted the siege to be the more famous

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief att ...

although Thompson was not at Lucknow. The 1/60th was part of the Siege of Delhi, the other four 1/60th citations do state Delhi and the action saving the life of Captain Wilton on 9 July 1857 occurred at Delhi. Thompson was at Delhi between July and September 1857 by which time he had been severely wounded and saw no further active service.

Memorials

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum is situated at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester, England. The museum is one of several regimental museums that form part of Winchester's Military Museums. History The museum brings together the collections ...

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, England. In December 2009, a memorial plaque to Thompson and two other recipients of the Victoria Cross,

John Henry Carless John Henry Carless (11 November 1896 – 17 November 1917) was a Great Britain, British recipient of the Victoria Cross during the World War I, First World War. Early life Carless was born in 1896 to John Thomas Carless, an iron foundry wor ...

and

Charles George Bonner Charles George Bonner (29 December 1884 – 7 February 1951) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth forces. ...

, was unveiled at the Town Hall in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, England. There is a small memorial plaque in St Peter's Church,

Yoxall Yoxall is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Swarbourn on the A515 road north of Lichfield and south west of Burton upon Trent. South of the village, Yoxall Bridge crosses the River Trent. The ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. It reads:

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 36 ...

(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 fol ...

(This England, 1997) *The Evolution Of The Victoria Cross (MJ Crook 1975)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Staffordshire)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, William James British recipients of the Victoria Cross King's Royal Rifle Corps soldiers People from Yoxall 1830 births 1891 deaths Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Staffordshire Burials in Staffordshire