William Hope

He crossed the open ground to bring a stretcher for a rescue

William Hope was born in Scotland in 1834 and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Commissioned into the 7th Regiment in 1855, he went to the Crimea.

During the assault on the Redan on 18 June 1855, the regimental adjutant lay badly wounded outside the trenches. Hope joined the rescue party, but the men could not carry the officer safely. He crossed exposed ground under fire, obtained a stretcher and brought it back so the casualty could be removed. Queen Victoria presented his Victoria Cross at Hyde Park in June 1857.

He resigned his regular commission in 1857 and married Margaret Graham. He worked as a civil and mechanical engineer, developing artillery projectiles and pursuing irrigation and land-reclamation schemes. He also helped establish and commanded a City of London artillery volunteer corps, attaining colonel. He died at Chelsea on 17 December 1909, six days after his wife, and was buried with her at Brompton Cemetery.