William Job Maillard

He returned through the gunfire to rescue the wounded sailor

William Job Maillard was born at Banwell, Somerset, on 10 March 1863. Educated at Kingswood and Dunheved, he trained at Guy's Hospital and qualified in medicine before joining the Royal Navy in 1889. He married Marian Beresford, a trained nurse, and served in several ships before joining HMS Hazard in 1897.

At Candia in Crete on 6 September 1898, sailors landing from Hazard came under intense fire. Maillard had reached safety but returned to the boat to rescue the wounded ordinary seaman Arthur Stroud. The drifting boat made it impossible for him to lift the dying man ashore. He returned with his clothing riddled by bullets. His attempt earned the Victoria Cross.

He was promoted staff surgeon for distinguished service in 1899 and continued in naval appointments until illness forced retirement in 1902. His health deteriorated and he died at Bournemouth in September 1903, aged forty. He was buried in Wimborne Road Cemetery.

Official Victoria Cross citation

On 6th September, 1898, during the landing of seamen from Her Majesty’s ship “Hazard,” Surgeon Maillard, who had disembarked and reached a place of safety, returned through a perfect deluge of bullets to the boat and endeavoured to bring into safety Arthur Stroud, Ordinary Seaman, who had fallen back wounded into the boat as the other men jumped ashore. Surgeon Maillard failed to bring Stroud in only through the boat being adrift, and it being beyond his strength to lift the man (who was almost dead) out of so unstable a platform. Surgeon Maillard returned to his post with his clothes riddled with bullets, though he himself was unhurt.

The London Gazette of 2 December 1898, Numb. 27029, p. 7816