William Nash

At Lucknow, he carried a wounded soldier through enemy fire.

William Nash was born on 23 April 1824 near Newcastle, County Limerick, Ireland. He enlisted in the Rifle Brigade at Portsmouth in 1838 and served in Bermuda and North America before India. He reached Colour Sergeant by 1855, but subsequent reductions changed his rank.

On 11 March 1858, Corporal Nash served with the 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade, during the capture of Lucknow in the Indian Rebellion. Near the Iron Bridge, a soldier was shot through both legs while Captain Henry Wilmot’s company faced heavy opposition. Nash and Private David Hawkes lifted and carried the wounded man under fire. Hawkes was wounded, while Wilmot covered their withdrawal with the men’s rifles. The three received the Victoria Cross for this action, announced in The London Gazette on 24 December 1858. Nash also received the Indian Mutiny Medal with the Lucknow clasp.

Nash was discharged as medically unfit on 24 March 1864, reportedly at the rank of Private. He died in Homerton, London, on 6 April 1875. His final years and any civilian occupation remain insufficiently documented.