John Danaher

He faced heavy Boer fire to rescue two wounded men in battle

John Danaher, also recorded as Danagher, was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1860. He attended the Christian Brothers school before travelling to South Africa. In 1880 he joined Nourse's Horse, a locally raised mounted unit, during the First Boer War.

On 16 January 1881, near Pretoria, British troops withdrew from Elandsfontein Ridge with wounded men still exposed to Boer fire. Danaher and Lance-Corporal James Murray went forward to help them. Murray was himself shot while tending a casualty. Unable to carry the wounded men out under the continuing fire, Danaher withdrew with their rifles on Murray's instructions. The wounded survivors were returned under a flag of truce. Both rescuers received the Victoria Cross for their courage during the attempt.

After Nourse's Horse disbanded, Danaher joined the 94th Regiment in April 1881. It became the 2nd Battalion, Connaught Rangers. The Earl Spencer, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, presented his Victoria Cross at the Curragh in August 1882. His subsequent military career included service in Malta, Egypt and India, and he earned the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. He retired as a sergeant in 1908.

Danaher married Bridget Connelly in 1883, and they raised a large family. Several sons served during the First World War. After leaving the Army he became a publican in the Portsmouth area, running the Falcon and later the Dog and Duck. He died at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth, on 9 January 1919 and was buried in Milton Cemetery. His Victoria Cross and long-service medal are held by the National Army Museum.

Victoria Cross citation (excerpt)

“advanced for five hundred yards under a heavy fire from a party of about sixty of the enemy”...

Source: The London Gazette,14 March1882,issue25084,page1130. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/25084/page/1130/data.pdf