Duncan Home
Duncan Charles Home | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Buried | Bolandsharh Cemetery, Aligarh |
| Allegiance |  Vereinigtes Königreich |
| Service/ | Bengal Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | Second Anglo-Sikh War Indian Mutiny |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Duncan Charles Home VC (10 June 1828 - 1 October 1857) was a 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 Commonwealth forces.
Details
He was 29 years old, and a lieutenant in the Bengal Engineers, Bengal Army during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 14 September 1857 during the Siege of Delhi, India, Lieutenant Home, with another lieutenant (Philip Salkeld), a sergeant (John Smith) and a bugler (Robert Hawthorne) showed conspicuous gallantry in the desperate task of blowing in the Kashmir Gate in broad daylight under heavy and destructive musket fire, preparatory to the assault.
He was killed in action, Malagarh, India, on 1 October 1857.
The medal
The original medal was lost in 1920 when children of the then owner played "Soldiers" in a field near the house. Despite many searches it has not been found.
References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)
External links
- Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
- 1828 births
- 1857 deaths
- Old Elizabethans (Guernsey)
- British East India Company Army officers
- Bengal Sappers and Miners personnel
- British Victoria Cross recipients
- Indian Rebellion of 1857 Victoria Cross recipients
- British military personnel killed in the Indian Mutiny
- British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Sikh War
- People from Jabalpur