Edward St John Daniel

At seventeen, Royal Navy midshipman Edward St John Daniel volunteered to carry ammunition through enemy fire during the Crimean War. Months later, after his eighteenth birthday, he risked his life again at the Redan to save Captain William Peel. His Victoria Cross story is remarkable not only for its gallantry, but also for the later forfeiture of the award.

Born on 17 January 1837 at Clifton, Bristol, England, Daniel entered the Royal Navy as a naval cadet on 7 January 1851. His early service aboard HMS Winchester took him to Southeast Asia during the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852–1853, where he was present at Pegu and Prome. In September 1853, he joined HMS Diamond under Captain William Peel and was promoted to Midshipman the following day.

During the Crimean War, Daniel served with the Royal Naval Brigade and became Captain Peel's aide-de-camp. On 18 October 1854, he volunteered to bring powder to a battery from an exposed ammunition wagon after enemy fire had disabled its horses. At the Battle of Inkerman on 5 November 1854, he accompanied Peel as aide-de-camp. On 18 June 1855, during the assault on the Redan, Daniel exposed himself to intense enemy fire to apply a tourniquet to Peel's severely wounded arm and help bring him to safety.

These three acts of gallantry formed the basis of his Victoria Cross recommendation, published in The London Gazette on 24 February 1857. His decoration was presented by Captain Francis Marten at a special parade in Gyah, Bengal, on 13 July 1858.

Daniel subsequently served with the Royal Naval Brigade during the Indian Mutiny. On 16 October 1857, he was sent to Cawnpore on special service to take charge of a small artillery battery. He also participated in the campaign associated with the relief of Lucknow. His wider military service earned him the India General Service Medal with Pegu clasp, Crimea Medal with Inkermann and Sebastopol clasps, Indian Mutiny Medal with Relief of Lucknow and Lucknow clasps, French Légion d'honneur, Ottoman Order of the Medjidie, Sardinian Silver Medal for Military Valour and Turkish Crimea Medal.

Promoted to Lieutenant in 1859, Daniel continued his Royal Navy career aboard several vessels. His service was subsequently affected by disciplinary proceedings. In 1861, after being arrested, he deserted before his court-martial could take place. On 4 September 1861, Queen Victoria ordered his Victoria Cross forfeited, making him the first of eight recipients to lose the decoration under the nineteenth-century forfeiture regulations.

After leaving the Royal Navy, Daniel travelled to Australia and resumed military service in New Zealand. He enlisted at Melbourne on 18 January 1864 as a private in No. 5 Company of the Taranaki Military Settlers, arriving at New Plymouth the following month. After the military settlers were disbanded in 1867, he joined the New Zealand Armed Constabulary Field Force as a lance corporal. In April 1868, he was deployed to Hokitika with a force sent to restore order during local disturbances. He subsequently became ill and was admitted to Hokitika Hospital on 16 May.

Edward St John Daniel died on 20 May 1868, aged thirty-one, and was buried with military honours in Hokitika Municipal Cemetery.

His life remains one of the most unusual stories in Victoria Cross history. His extraordinary courage in the Crimea secured his place among the decoration's early recipients, while his subsequent desertion and forfeiture make his military legacy a complex reminder that battlefield gallantry and personal conduct are separate parts of a soldier's history.