George Henry Ingouville

Leapt wounded into the sea to save a cutter under enemy fire

On 13 July 1855, George Henry Ingouville helped save HMS Arrogant’s second cutter during an attack on Russian gunboats and shore batteries off Vyborg in the Gulf of Finland. An explosion swamped the boat and left her drifting beneath a battery. Despite an arm wound, Ingouville jumped overboard, seized her painter and worked under heavy fire to save her. Lieutenant George Dare Dowell and volunteers then assisted the cutter and crew.

Born in Jersey on 7 October 1826, Ingouville entered the Royal Navy in 1851. He served in the Black Sea before joining Arrogant for the Baltic campaign. At the rescue he held the rating Captain of the Mast, which was not a commissioned captain’s rank.

He received both the Victoria Cross and Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. Queen Victoria presented his VC at Hyde Park on 26 June 1857. His campaign awards were the Crimea, Baltic and Turkish Crimea medals. His later service chronology records Able Seaman in 1862 and further service in 1863. He died on 13 January 1869. Jersey Heritage preserves his Victoria Cross.

Official Victoria Cross citation The London Gazette, 24 February 1857, issue 21971, page 653:

“On the 13th of July, 1855, while the boats of the ‘Arrogant’ were engaged with the enemy’s gun-boats and batteries off Viborg, her second cutter was swamped by the blowing up of her magazine, and drifted under a battery. Notwithstanding that he was wounded in the arm, and that the boat was under a very heavy fire, Ingouville, without any order to do so, jumped overboard, caught hold of her painter, and saved her.”