Surgeon General William George Nicholas Manley, (17 December 1831 – 16 November 1901) 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, surgeon 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 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 received awards from several other countries, and is the only person to have been awarded both the VC and the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

Early life

Manley was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland, on 17 December 1831, the second son of the Reverend William Nicholas Manley, his mother being a daughter of Dr. Brown of the Army Medical Staff. He was educated at the

Blackheath Proprietary School The Blackheath Proprietary School was an educational establishment founded in 1830. In the 19th century, it had a profound influence on the game of football, in both Association and Rugby codes. In 1863, the school became one of the founders of Th ...

and became a member of the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The ...

in 1851.

Military career

In 1854 Manley joined the army medical staff, and was attached to the

Royal Regiment of Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

serving in

Crimea 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 ...

. He was present for the Siege of Sevastopol 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 ...

. He was later posted with his regiment in New Zealand.

Victoria Cross

Manley was 32 years old, and an assistant surgeon in the

during the Waikato-Hauhau Maori War, New Zealand when the following deed took place on 29 April 1864 near

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

, New Zealand, during the assault on the rebel

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive terraces – and also to fortified villages. Pā sites o ...

("pah")

Gate Pā Gate Pa or Gate Pā is a suburb of Tauranga, in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is the location of the Battle of Gate Pā in the 1864 Tauranga campaign of the New Zealand Wars. Demographics Gate Pa covers and had a ...

, for which he was awarded the VC. He also served in the same war under Sir Trevor Chute, and was present at the assault and capture of the Okotukou,

Putahi Putahi is a 381 m high rhyolite dome, in the Kaikohe-Bay of Islands volcanic field in New Zealand. To the north of Putahi is Lake Ōmāpere. To its north east are the volcanoes of Tarahi and Te Ahuahu. It was the site of the first, successfu ...

, Otapawe, and Waikohou Pahs. For his services on these occasions he was again mentioned in dispatches and promoted to

staff surgeon Staff may refer to: Pole * Staff, a weapon used in stick-fighting ** Quarterstaff, a European pole weapon * Staff of office, a pole that indicates a position * Staff (railway signalling), a token authorizing a locomotive driver to use a particular ...

Later career

When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870 he proceeded with the British Ambulance Corps, and was attached to the 22nd division of the Prussian Army. He was present for several battles, and received several decorations including the Iron Cross (second class) on the recommendation of the German Crown Prince: In 1878–79 he served with the Quetta Field force in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

, and in 1882 he was in Egypt for the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

as Principal Medical officer of the Second Division under Sir Edward Hamley and was present at the

Battle of Tel el-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

. After this war he was promoted to Deputy Surgeon-General.

Later life

Manley was awarded the honorary rank of surgeon general and retired from the army in 1884 with a distinguished service pension. Upon retirement he was made a Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

. He died in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, on 16 November 1901.

Family

Manley married Miss M. E. Darton, daughter of Thomas Hartwood Darton, of

Temple Dinsley Preston is a village and civil parish about south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population was 420. The village grew up around the Templar holdings at Temple Dinsley. The first church was mentioned in 1252, when ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. They had one daughter and five sons, including Lieutenant G. E. D. Manley, who died while on service in China shortly before his father's death in 1901.

Honours and awards

William Manley VC Blue plaque Cheltenham Flickr 6234554182

Manley was awarded 18 medals by several countries, and was the only recipient of both the VC and the Iron Cross, the highest medals of the United Kingdom and Prussia (later part of the German Empire). Among his awards were: During his time in New Zealand he also received the bronze medal of the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

for rescuing a man from drowning, and after the siege of Paris he received the Cross of the '' Société française de secours aux blessés militaires''. His medals are on display in the medals gallery of

Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum The Royal Artillery Museum, which was one of the world's oldest military museums, was first opened to the public in Woolwich in southeast London in 1820. It told the story of the development of artillery through the ages by way of a collection o ...

in Woolwich, south east London.

References

Citations

General References

* * * ''

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 ...

'' (1981, 1988 and 1997) * * ''Ireland's VCs'', Dept of Economic Development, 1995, * ''

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 *

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Gloucestershire)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Manley, William George Nicholas 1831 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Irish medical doctors British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British Army personnel of the Crimean War British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army regimental surgeons British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War Companions of the Order of the Bath Irish officers in the British Army Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross Knights of Grace of the Order of St John New Zealand Wars recipients of the Victoria Cross People educated at Blackheath Proprietary School Medical doctors from Dublin (city) People of the Franco-Prussian War Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Royal Army Medical Corps officers Royal Artillery officers