John Taylor (VC)

On June 18, 1855, Allied forces launched a major assault against Russian defensive positions surrounding Sebastopol. Following a heavy bombardment the preceding day, British infantry columns advanced across four hundred yards of open ground toward the Redan fortification, encountering dense networks of abattis and ditches lined with spikes. Defensive artillery and rifle fire broke the assault, driving the survivors back to their battery saps and leaving dead and wounded soldiers stranded across the open approaches.

A soldier from the 57th Regiment of Foot, shot through both legs, was observed sitting upright seventy yards ahead of the advanced sap, calling for help. Commander Henry James Raby, Boatswain's Mate Henry Curtis, and Captain of the Forecastle John Taylor climbed over the breastwork. Moving across exposed ground under continuous musketry, the three men reached the wounded soldier, lifted him, and carried him back to the shelter of the British lines.

"On the 18th June, 1855, immediately after the assault on Sebastopol, a soldier of the 57th Regiment, who had been shot through both legs, was observed sitting up, and calling for assistance. Climbing over the breastwork of the advanced sap, Commander Raby and the two seamen proceeded upwards of seventy yards across the open space towards the salient angle of the Redan, and in spite of the heavy fire which was still continuing, succeeded in carrying the wounded soldier to a place of safety, at the imminent risk of their own lives."

— Despatch from Admiral Lord Lyons (London Gazette, 24 February 1857)

Taylor was born on October 31, 1821, in the parish of St Philip and St Jacob in Bristol. He entered the Royal Navy in October 1841 as a rating aboard the line-of-battle ship HMS Cornwallis. His initial deployment took him to the East Indies and China Station during the First Anglo-Chinese War, where he participated in operations along the Yangtze River. Advanced to Ordinary Seaman in January 1843, he served aboard Cornwallis until the vessel paid off in November 1844.

Transferring to HMS Eagle in February 1845, Taylor was promoted to Able Seaman in November 1846 and completed three years of sea duty before paying off in March 1848. In May 1848, he joined HMS Hastings, deploying to South Asian waters for service along the Burmese coast during the Second Anglo-Burmese War. His seamanship led to advancement as Second Captain of the Forecastle in March 1850, Quartermaster in October 1850, and Captain of the Forecastle in November 1850. Upon the outbreak of hostilities with Russia, he was assigned to HMS London and volunteered for duty on shore with the Royal Naval Brigade, participating in the siege operations and artillery bombardments at Sebastopol.

After returning to England, Taylor married Elizabeth Joy, a widow, at Cheriton, Kent, on February 12, 1856. The announcement of his Victoria Cross appeared in the London Gazette on February 24, 1857. Suffering from severe bronchitis, he died the following day, February 25, 1857, at the Royal Marine Infirmary in Woolwich at thirty-five years of age. He was buried in Woolwich Old Cemetery in Plumstead. His widow applied to attend the initial Victoria Cross investiture ceremony in Hyde Park, but official regulations restricted attendance to living recipients, and the cross was delivered to her by registered post from the Admiralty on July 8, 1857. His complete medal group was purchased at auction during the 1920s and forms part of the Sheesh Mahal Collection in Patiala, India.