John Sheppard

John Sheppard's Victoria Cross was earned in one of the most unusual naval gallantry operations of the Crimean War. On 15 July 1855, while serving as a Boatswain's Mate of HMS St Jean d'Acre and attached to the Naval Brigade before Sevastopol, he entered the harbour alone in a small punt carrying an explosive apparatus intended for use against one of the Russian line-of-battle ships. Sheppard had devised a canvas duck punt for the operation and planned to approach a warship under cover of darkness, attach the explosive charge, and escape before detonation. Royal Museums Greenwich records that the craft was of his own invention.

Sheppard succeeded in passing the Russian steam-boats guarding the entrance to Careening Bay, but his advance was blocked by a continuous movement of boats carrying troops between the southern and northern sides of Sevastopol. He withdrew without being detected. On 16 August he made a second attempt from the French-held side of Careening Bay, but again was unable to reach a Russian warship. The official Victoria Cross notice described the enterprise as having been twice attempted and recorded Lord Lyons's assessment that it was "a bold one, and gallantly executed." Captain Henry Keppel had recommended Sheppard for the distinction.

The Victoria Cross was announced in the London Gazette of 24 February 1857. The published entry records Sheppard as proceeding "in a punt with an exploding apparatus into the harbour of Sebastopol" in an effort to destroy a Russian line-of-battle ship, followed by the account of the Russian steam-boats and troop boats that prevented him from completing the mission. The wording previously reproduced in this biography was an inaccurate abridgement and has therefore been replaced here with a short, identified extract from the official Gazette notice.

Sheppard was born at Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, on 22 September 1817. He entered the Royal Navy as an Ordinary Seaman in HMS Fantome on 16 October 1840 and was rated Able Seaman later that month. He subsequently served as Captain of the Forecastle before leaving Fantome in 1843. From 1844 until 1853 he served in the Coast Guard at Wells and Burnham in Norfolk, first as a boatman and later as a commissioned boatman. He resigned from the Coast Guard in October 1853 and returned to naval service aboard HMS St Jean d'Acre as a Boatswain's Mate under a ten-year continuous-service engagement.

During the Crimean War he served in both the Baltic and Black Sea theatres. His service record places him on HMS Royal Albert from 12 July 1855, although the official Victoria Cross recommendation continued to describe him for the July action as Boatswain's Mate of HMS St Jean d'Acre, attached to the Naval Brigade. This apparent administrative overlap is best preserved rather than silently reconciled. On 23 November 1855 he was advanced to Boatswain Third Class, subsequently serving in HMS Supply, HMS St Vincent and HMS Cruizer.

Sheppard was unable to attend Queen Victoria's first mass Victoria Cross investiture at Hyde Park on 26 June 1857 because he was serving overseas. The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association records that his decoration was sent by the War Office to the Admiralty on that date and forwarded to Hong Kong for presentation. The precise circumstances of the actual presentation are less certain. One modern biographical source states that he received the medal from Captain C. F. A. Shadwell in connection with HMS Highflyer, while a contemporary watercolour dated 1858 depicts Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour presenting Victoria Crosses to Sheppard, John Prettyjohn and James Gorman at the Palace of the Tartar General in Canton. In the absence of the original presentation record, the date, place and presenter should not presently be stated as settled fact.

Sheppard continued to serve in East Asia during the Second Anglo-Chinese War. His surviving China Medal bears the clasp Canton 1857, confirming qualifying service in that operation. He became Boatswain Second Class on 26 February 1858 and later served in HMS Highflyer. After returning to Britain he continued his career in a succession of ships and establishments including HMS Dauntless, HMS Asia, HMS Hastings, HMS Indus, HMS Trincomalee, HMS Cumberland, HMS Agincourt and HMS Pembroke. He was promoted Boatswain First Class on 16 June 1862 and retired on 17 May 1870.

In addition to the Victoria Cross, Sheppard received the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for the same 1855 operations and was Mentioned in Despatches. His complete surviving medal group is preserved by the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. It comprises the Victoria Cross; Conspicuous Gallantry Medal; Baltic Medal 1854–55; Crimea Medal with Sebastopol clasp; China Medal with Canton 1857 clasp; the Légion d'Honneur, 5th Class, Chevalier; the Sardinian Silver Medal for Valour, Al Valore Militare; and the Turkish Crimea Medal. Royal Museums Greenwich specifically identifies the Légion d'Honneur as 5th Class and describes the Sardinian decoration as a silver medal bearing the arms of Savoy and the inscription AL VALORE MILITARE.

Sheppard died at Padstow, Cornwall, on 17 December 1884, aged sixty-seven, and was buried in Padstow Cemetery. His preserved group of eight decorations and medals provides an unusually complete material record of a Royal Navy career that extended from the early Victorian fleet through the Baltic, Crimea and China campaigns.