George Rolland

He raced back under fire to get help for a stricken officer.

George Murray Rolland was born at Wellington in British India on 12 May 1869, the son of an artillery officer and the novelist Albania Crofton. Educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Bedfordshire Regiment in November 1889. His later service took him into the Indian Army and the 1st Bombay Grenadiers.

During the Somaliland expedition of 1902-1903, Captain Rolland worked with the Berbera-Bohotle flying column and Major John Gough's force. On 22 April 1903, after the action at Daratoleh, the rearguard became separated from the main column. A fellow officer fell badly wounded while Rolland, William George Walker and a small party were with him.

Enemy fighters surrounded the group. While the others protected the casualty, Rolland ran back approximately five hundred yards to obtain assistance. Gough came forward, and the rescuers managed to lift the wounded officer onto a camel. The officer was struck again and died, but the attempt had been sustained despite the danger to everyone involved.

Rolland's Victoria Cross was announced in August 1903 and presented at Dehra Dun that November. He later became adjutant of the Nagpur Volunteer Rifles and attained the rank of major. His life ended at Nagpur in July 1910 after a fall. He was buried in Takli Cemetery.

The recognition of his conduct rests on his determination to bring help to an isolated casualty while the rest of the force was moving away. His later service continued in India rather than ending with the Somaliland action.