Sir Charles Russell, 3rd Baronet

He led a handful of men to retake a battery under enemy fire

At Inkerman on 5 November 1854, Captain Sir Charles Russell, 3rd Baronet, of the Grenadier Guards helped turn a desperate struggle into an act of extraordinary courage. Russian troops had occupied the Sandbag Battery. Russell offered to lead an attack if a few men would follow him. Sergeant Norman and Privates Palmer and Bailey volunteered, and together they drove the Russians out. Bailey was killed during the assault.

The London Gazette of 24 February 1857 announced Russell's Victoria Cross, citing his offer to dislodge the enemy and the successful attack he led with the three volunteers. He received the decoration from Queen Victoria at Hyde Park on 26 June 1857.

Born near Reading in 1826 and educated at Eton, Russell entered the British Army in 1843 and later joined the Grenadier Guards. He inherited the baronetcy in 1852. His Crimean War service included Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman and the siege of Sevastopol, recognised by the Crimea Medal with four clasps. His other honours were the French Legion of Honour as a Knight, the Ottoman Order of the Medjidie, Fifth Class, and the Turkish Crimea Medal.

Russell continued his regular Army career until 1868, retiring as a Lieutenant-Colonel. His later appointment as Honorary Colonel of the 46th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps in 1877 was a separate volunteer honour, rather than an extension of his regular service. He also represented Berkshire and Westminster in Parliament.

He died on 14 April 1883 and was buried at Swallowfield. The portrait retained here is an 1878 Vanity Fair caricature, a historical illustration rather than a photograph.