John Frederick McCrea

Wounded in the chest, he continued treating fallen comrades.

John Frederick McCrea lost both parents as an infant and was brought up by relatives in Guernsey. He attended Elizabeth College and later trained at Guy's Hospital in London, qualifying as a surgeon in 1878.

He went to South Africa in 1879 and worked as a civilian surgeon at the military hospital in Cape Town. The following year he moved to Fort Beaufort and joined the Cape Mounted Yeomanry as a surgeon. His service took him into the Basuto conflict, where he accompanied troops operating in difficult country and treated casualties from repeated engagements.

On 14 January 1881, at Sepechele, also known as Tweefontein, the force with which he was serving suffered numerous casualties. McCrea went out to assist a wounded man and helped bring him towards cover. While obtaining a stretcher he was wounded in the chest himself.

He dressed his own injury and continued attending the wounded for the rest of the day. His Victoria Cross recognised the determination with which he carried out his medical duties despite injury and exposure to fire. Brigadier General Charles Clarke presented the cross at King William's Town in October 1881.

McCrea became a surgeon major and continued serving in the Cape colonial forces, eventually joining the Cape Mounted Riflemen. In 1887 he married Elizabeth Watermeyer at Kokstad. His later responsibilities included acting as principal medical officer of the colonial forces.

He died at Kokstad on 16 July 1894 and was buried there. His career linked civilian medical training with military care in South Africa, and his cross commemorates the day on which his own wound failed to stop that work.

Official Victoria Cross citation

For his conspicuous bravery during the severely contested engagement with the Basutos on the 14th January, 1881, at Tweefontein, near Thaba Tsen, when, after the enemy had charged the Burghers in the most determined manner, forcing them to retire with a loss of sixteen killed and twenty-one wounded, Surgeon McCrea went out for some distance, under a heavy fire, and, with the assistance of Captain Buxton, of the Mafeteng Contingent, conveyed a wounded Burgher named Aircamp to the shelter of a large ant-heap, and having placed him in a position of safety returned to the Ambulance for a stretcher. Whilst on his way thither Surgeon McCrea was severely wounded in the right breast by a bullet, notwithstanding which, he continued to perform his duties at the Ambulance, and again assisted to bring in several wounded men, continuing afterwards to attend the wounded during the remainder of the day, and scarcely taking time to dress his own wound, which he was obliged to do himself, there being no other Medical Officer in the Field. Had it not been for this gallantry and devotion to his duty on the part of Surgeon McCrea, the sufferings of the wounded would undoubtedly have been much aggravated, and greater loss of life might very probably have ensued.

The London Gazette of 28 June 1881, Numb. 24989, p. 3239.