Thomas James Young

He served a gun at close range against a fortified position.

Thomas James Young was born at Abbotshall, Fife, on 29 January 1827. He entered the Royal Navy in 1842 and became a lieutenant in 1851. As a gunnery officer in HMS Agamemnon, he served in the Crimea and the Sea of Azov before joining HMS Shannon and its Naval Brigade in India.

At the Shah Najaf position, Lucknow, on 16 November 1857, Young and William Hall served a 24-pounder gun brought close to the fortifications. They continued under severe fire, helping the assault proceed. Their gallantry earned the Victoria Cross.

Promoted commander in 1858, Young received his decoration in 1859 and married in 1860. He later commanded HMS Gibraltar and became a captain on half-pay in 1866. He died at Caen, France, on 20 March 1869 and was buried in the Protestant cemetery there.

Victoria Cross citation

Lieutenant (now Commander) Young, late Gunnery Officer of Her Majesty’s ship “Shannon,” and William Hall, “Captain of the Foretop,” of that Vessel, were recommended by the late Captain Peel for the Victoria Cross, for their gallant conduct at a 24-Pounder Gun, brought up to the angle of the Shah Nujjiff, at Lucknow, on the 16th of November, 1857.