William McWheeney VC DCM (1830 – 17 May 1866), also known as Mawhinney, was born in

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked ...

. He was 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 ...

, 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 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. He was awarded the VC for his service during the

Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855) The siege of Sevastopol (at the time called in English the siege of Sebastopol) lasted from October 1854 until September 1855, during the Crimean War. The allies ( French, Sardinian, Ottoman, and British) landed at Eupatoria on 14 September ...

Details

McWheeney was 23 or 24 years old, and a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the

44th Regiment of Foot The 44th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot to form the Essex Regiment in 1881. History Early history The regime ...

(later The

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

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

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 for which he was awarded the VC:

Volunteered as sharpshooter at the commencement of the siege, and was iu charge of the party of the 44th Regiment; was always vigilant and active, and signalised himself on the 20th October, 1854, when one of his party, Private JohnKeane, 44th Regiment, was dangerously wounded in the Woronzoff Road, at the time the sharpshooters were repulsed from the Quarries by overwhelming numbers. Serjennt M'Wheeney, on his return, took the wounded man on hisback, and brought him to a place of safety. This wasundera very heavyfire. He was also the means of saving the life of Corporal Courtney. This man was one of the sharpshooters, and was severely wounded in the head, 5th December, 1854. Serjeant M'Wheeney brought him from under fire, and dug up a slight cover with his bayonet, where the two remained until dark, 'when they retired. Serjeant M'Wheeney volunteered for the advanced guard of General Eyre's Brigade, in the Cemetery, on the 18th June, 1855, and was never absent from duty during the war.

Further information

McWheeney died at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

on 17 May 1866, and was interred there at St James Cemetery, Section R, Number 1-11; his Victoria Cross is displayed at The Essex Regiment Museum (

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

References

Publications

*''Victoria Cross Heroes'' (Michael Ashcroft, 2006), Headline Book Publishing; / *''

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), Naval Military Press, United States (2008); / *''

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) Four Courts Press Ltd (1 January 2000); / {{DEFAULTSORT:McWheeney, William Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Crimean War Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Essex Regiment soldiers People from Bangor, County Down 1830 births 1866 deaths 19th-century Irish people Irish soldiers in the British Army British Army personnel of the Second Opium War British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from County Down Burials in Kent