Joseph John Farmer

Raising a white flag, he shielded wounded men on Majuba Hill

Joseph John Farmer was born in Clerkenwell, London, in the mid-1850s, the son of Thomas John Farmer, a driver, and Julia, née Hurley. After attending school at King’s Cross, he became a builder’s apprentice and then went to sea at thirteen. He survived shipwrecks off the Isle of Wight and near Hong Kong. After returning to London, he contracted smallpox. While in hospital he stopped a delirious patient from jumping from a window, and later worked as a hospital night porter.

He enlisted in the Army Hospital Corps in February 1879 and trained in anatomy and ambulance work. Sent to South Africa near the end of the Zulu War, he served in military hospitals in Natal and then accompanied the troops during the First Boer War.

On 27 February 1881, during the defeat at Majuba Hill, Farmer was caring for wounded men as the Boers closed in. He held up a white flag to protect the casualties. A bullet struck the arm supporting it. He raised the flag with his other arm and continued exposing himself in an effort to shield the wounded, despite being struck again. His conduct earned the Victoria Cross.

Farmer returned to Britain for treatment at Netley and left the army because of his wounds, with the rank of corporal. He married Emily Saggers in October 1881. Their three sons served in the First World War, and one was killed. Farmer joined the Corps of Commissionaires and worked for a manufacturing firm in Fulham. He attended the 1929 VC banquet despite suffering from cancer. He died at Mount Vernon Hospital on 30 June 1930 and was buried in Brompton Cemetery, where a stone from Majuba marks his grave.

Victoria Cross citation

For conspicuous bravery during the engagement with the Boers at the Majuba Mountain, on the 27th February, 1881, when he showed a spirit of self-abnegation and an example of cool courage which cannot be too highly commended. While the Boers closed with the British troops near the wells, Corporal Farmer held a white flag over the wounded, and when the arm holding the flag was shot through, he called out that he had “another.” He then raised the flag with the other arm, and continued to do so until that also was pierced with a bullet.