Richard Fitzgerald (VC)

Richard Fitzgerald VC

Richard Fitzgerald was born in Cork, Ireland, in December 1831. Little is known of his early life, but he enlisted in the Bengal Horse Artillery in December 1851. By the time the Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857, Fitzgerald was serving in India as a Gunner, one of the artillerymen whose work often placed him close to the centre of the fighting.

On 28 September 1857, during the Battle of Bulandshahr, Fitzgerald was serving alongside Sergeant Bernard Diamond. The two men were manning an important gun when it came under very heavy enemy fire. The position was dangerous, and the rest of the men attached to the gun were either killed or wounded. Despite this, Fitzgerald and Diamond refused to abandon the piece.

Working the gun under intense fire, they continued to engage the rebel forces and helped clear the road ahead. Their steadiness and courage allowed the gun to remain in action at a moment when its loss could have had serious consequences. It was a classic artillery act of bravery: not a charge, not a dramatic advance, but two men staying at their post when nearly everyone around them had fallen.

For their conduct at Bulandshahr, both Richard Fitzgerald and Bernard Diamond were awarded the Victoria Cross. Their citation was published in the London Gazette on 27 April 1858, recognizing their gallantry in continuing to work the gun after the rest of the detachment had been killed or disabled. Fitzgerald was presented with his Victoria Cross later that year.

After the Mutiny, Fitzgerald transferred to the Royal Artillery as a “Local in India.” He was pensioned off in 1872 and continued to draw his pension for many years. A memorial panel listing Victoria Cross recipients gives his date of death as 17 January 1916, although the precise place of death remains uncertain and he has no known grave.

His medals are held by Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. For many years there was concern that they might have been lost during the bombing of Bristol in 1941, but the medal group survived. Fitzgerald’s known medals are the Victoria Cross and the Indian Mutiny Medal 1857–59 with clasp Lucknow.