William McWheeney

When the 44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot deployed to the Crimean Peninsula in 1854, William McWheeney was a young sergeant whose military record reflected the rough realities of Victorian infantry service. Born in Bangor, County Down, around 1830, he spent his early years in Newtownards before enlisting in the British Army under a variant spelling of his family name, McWhinney. The regiment arrived in the Crimea as part of the Allied expeditionary force intent on neutralising the Russian naval fortress at Sevastopol. As the operational focus shifted from mobile field movements to siege tactics, pitched infantry engagements gave way to long, attrition-heavy trench warfare.

Specialised marksmen were required to suppress enemy artillery crews and counter Russian skirmishers operating between the opposing earthworks. McWheeney volunteered at the beginning of siege operations to serve as a sharpshooter, subsequently receiving command of the detachment assigned from the 44th Foot. The assignment required constant vigilance in forward, exposed positions where ground cover was minimal and artillery fire persistent.

On October 20, 1854, during skirmishing near the Woronzoff Road, overwhelming Russian forces repulsed the detachment from the Quarries. As the British skirmishers withdrew under heavy rifle fire, Private John Keane fell dangerously wounded in open ground. Rather than remaining behind cover, McWheeney returned into the exposed fire zone, hauled Keane onto his back, and carried him to safety.

Six weeks later, on December 5, 1854, a second rescue occurred under similar tactical pressures. Corporal Courtney, another member of the sharpshooters, sustained a severe head wound while operating in a forward position. Moving through direct enemy fire, McWheeney reached the injured corporal. Unable to carry him back across open terrain without exposing both men to direct fire, he used his socket bayonet to dig out a shallow trench in the frozen earth. The two men remained pinned in this makeshift shelter throughout the daylight hours, holding their position until darkness allowed them to retreat to Allied lines.

Regimental records highlight that McWheeney was never absent from duty throughout the entire campaign, surviving severe winter weather, widespread illness, and continuous combat duties that severely depleted the rank and file. When General Eyre's Brigade undertook the costly assault on the Cemetery on June 18, 1855, McWheeney again volunteered, leading the advanced guard into action. His sustained service was officially recognised in The London Gazette on February 24, 1857, which announced the simultaneous award of the Victoria Cross and the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions during the siege.

On June 26, 1857, McWheeney attended the first investiture of the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, London, where Queen Victoria personally presented the decoration. By that time, he had married Matilda Kelly in Cheriton, Kent.

Operational service continued with the 44th Foot during the Second Anglo-Chinese War. In 1860, he served with the regiment throughout the campaign in northern China, taking part in the combined Anglo-French assault that captured the Taku Forts guarding the approach to Tientsin. Promoted to Colour Sergeant, he later returned with his unit to England, serving at Western Heights Barracks in Dover. He died at the Military Hospital in Hougham on May 17, 1866, at thirty-six years of age, and was interred in St James Cemetery, Dover.

The official citation for his Victoria Cross, published in The London Gazette on February 24, 1857, reads:

"Volunteered as sharpshooter at the commencement of the siege, and was in charge of the party of the 44th Regiment; was always vigilant and active, and signalised himself on the 20th October, 1854, when one of his party, Private John Keane, 44th Regiment, was dangerously wounded in the Woronzoff Road, at the time the sharpshooters were repulsed from the Quarries by overwhelming numbers. Serjeant M'Wheeney, on his return, took the wounded man on his back, and brought him to a place of safety. This was under a very heavy fire. He was also the means of saving the life of Corporal Courtney. This man was one of the sharpshooters, and was severely wounded in the head, 5th December, 1854. Serjeant M'Wheeney brought him from under fire, and dug up a slight cover with his bayonet, where the two remained until dark, when they retired. Serjeant M'Wheeney volunteered for the advanced guard of General Eyre's Brigade, in the Cemetery, on the 18th June, 1855, and was never absent from duty during the war."