Mathew Hughes

Across the Quarries, he braved fire to rescue a wounded man.

Mathew Hughes was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1822. He enlisted in the 7th Royal Fusiliers on 7 March 1840, purchased his discharge in January 1844, and re-enlisted that June. His service later took him to Gibraltar, the East Indies and the Crimea. He was present at Alma and Inkerman and served during the siege of Sevastopol.

At the Quarries on 7 June 1855, Hughes crossed exposed ground twice under heavy fire to obtain ammunition, then brought in the severely wounded Private John Hampton. On 18 June, during the assault on the Redan, he volunteered to bring in the wounded Lieutenant Hobson and was severely wounded in the attempt. The London Gazette of 24 February 1857 recorded both actions when announcing his Victoria Cross.

Queen Victoria presented Hughes with the Victoria Cross at the first general investiture in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857. He served until September 1861 and later worked in Bradford as a lodging-house and beer-house keeper. He died there on 9 January 1882 and was buried in Undercliffe Cemetery. His grave received a new headstone in 1998, and his medals are held by the Royal Fusiliers museum collection at the Tower of London.