John Coleman

Hero of Sebastopol and the 97th Regiment of Foot

Under Russian fire at Sebastopol, with the men around him killed or wounded, John Coleman refused to leave the position while a mortally wounded officer remained behind. His decision on the night of 30 August 1855 transformed a long-serving soldier of the 97th Regiment of Foot into a recipient of the Victoria Cross and secured his place in the history of the Crimean War.

John Coleman was probably born in Norwich, Norfolk, around 1820 or 1821. His precise date of birth remains uncertain, with some later reference works giving an earlier date. Contemporary Norwich death notices, however, described him as being in his thirty-eighth year when he died in 1858 and identified him as a native of Norwich. They also recorded that he had served for more than twenty years in the 97th Regiment of Foot, known as the Earl of Ulster's Regiment.

The 97th Regiment was a veteran British infantry unit with a long record of overseas service. During the Crimean War it was sent to the Crimea and became heavily engaged in the Siege of Sevastopol. The National Army Museum records that the regiment was principally engaged at Sevastopol and suffered severe casualties during the campaign. Two members of the regiment would receive the newly created Victoria Cross for their conduct there.

Coleman's moment came on 30 August 1855. Russian troops attacked a British position described in the official record as a "New Sap", driving back the working party occupying it. Rather than immediately withdrawing with the survivors, Coleman remained exposed in the open under fire from the Russian rifle pits. Men around him were killed or wounded, yet he continued to hold his ground. Before leaving, he carried a mortally wounded officer out of danger and brought him to the rear.

The act was one of extraordinary composure as well as courage. Coleman was not charging an enemy position in the excitement of an assault. He remained deliberately exposed after the working party had been driven in, surrounded by casualties and under direct enemy fire, because another soldier could not escape without assistance.

For this action, Serjeant John Coleman of the 97th Regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy. His award was officially announced in The London Gazette on 24 February 1857, Issue 21971, page 662.

Only a few months later, Coleman stood before Queen Victoria herself. On 26 June 1857, he attended the first great Victoria Cross investiture in Hyde Park, London, where Queen Victoria personally presented the decoration to recipients of the newly instituted award. The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association records Coleman among those invested by the Queen that day.

His service did not end with the Crimea. Following the outbreak of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, historically known in British medal terminology as the Indian Mutiny, the 97th Regiment was sent to India. The regiment subsequently fought at Lucknow and in further operations during the campaign. Coleman was present during the Lucknow operations and qualified for the Indian Mutiny Medal with the Lucknow clasp. His complete verified campaign entitlement also included the Crimea Medal with Sebastopol clasp and the Turkish Crimea Medal, in addition to his Victoria Cross.

These campaign awards help trace the final years of Coleman's military career. The Sebastopol clasp records his service in the campaign where he won the Victoria Cross. The Turkish Crimea Medal reflects the allied nature of the war against Russia. The Lucknow clasp marks his participation in another major imperial campaign only a few years later. Unlike the Victoria Cross, these campaign medals were awarded according to qualifying service and therefore did not carry individual gallantry citations.

Coleman survived Russian fire at Sevastopol, but he did not survive his second great campaign. Contemporary Norwich newspapers reported that Serjeant John Coleman VC died of fever at Lucknow on 22 May 1858, in his thirty-eighth year. The notices remembered him as a respected soldier, a native of Norwich and a man who had served upwards of twenty years with the 97th Regiment. His final burial place has not been securely identified.

His Victoria Cross is preserved at the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regimental Museum at Maidstone Museum in Kent, an institution that preserves the history of the 97th Regiment and its successor formations.

John Coleman's story is striking because his courage was demonstrated not in a single reckless instant, but through deliberate resolve. At Sebastopol he remained in an exposed position after others had fallen, then refused to leave a dying officer behind. Less than three years later, after surviving one of the nineteenth century's most brutal sieges and receiving the Victoria Cross from Queen Victoria herself, he died on active service thousands of miles from home.

His name remains inseparable from the 97th Regiment of Foot, the Siege of Sebastopol, the Victoria Cross and the campaign at Lucknow.

Victoria Cross Citation

97th Regiment Serjeant John Coleman

“Conspicuous for great coolness and bravery on the night of the 30th August, 1855, when the enemy attacked a ‘New Sap,’ and drove in the working party. Serjeant Coleman remained in the open, exposed to the enemy’s rifle-pits, until all around him had been killed or wounded, and finally carried one of his officers, who was mortally wounded, to the rear.”

Gazetted: 24 February 1857 The London Gazette: Issue 21971, page 662.