The Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross
Awarded to Men of Portsmouth
'FOR VALOUR'


 
The foremost British and Commonwealth gallantry decoration is awarded for very exceptional gallantry and, as such, is the most prized award that any subject can earn.
 
These pages commemorate those Men of Portsmouth to whom the VC was awarded. Each is listed below - click on their names for further details of their actions and biographies.
 

Map showing the location of the principal cemeteries in Portsmouth
Map of Portsmouth Cemeteries
 
Detailed maps of each can be
found on the VC Pages.

Highland Road Cemetery
Sir William Nathan Wrighte Hewett VC    
Israel Harding VC
Henry James Raby VC
Hugh Stewart Cochrane VC
John Robarts VC
Hugh Shaw VC
William Temple VC
William Goate VC
 
Milton Cemetery
Sidney James Day VC
John Danagher VC
 
Kingston Cemetery
Henry Curtis VC
 

Others
James Ockendon VC
Thomas Reeves VC
Norman Finch VC
 
Others (Buried outside Portsmouth)
Norman Douglas Holbrook VC
Edward Robinson VC
Edward Unwin VC
Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen VC
William Harry Nickerson VC
Francis John William Harvey VC
Nowell Salmon VC
John Edmund Commerell VC
John Leak VC
Robert Vaughan Gorle VC


See also the Royal Naval Club and Royal Albert Yacht Club Memorial plaque to members upon whom the VC was conferred.
 
For a brief history see the Victoria Cross website. For information on the graves of men awarded the Victoria Cross see the Victoria Cross Trust.
 
BOOK REVIEW
 
The Complete Victoria Cross
By Kevin Brazier
Published by Pen & Sword
ISBN 978 1 84884 150 5
£25
 
The Victoria Cross has been awarded on 1358 occasions (as of February 2010) since Queen Victoria signed the royal warrant on 29th January 1856. In the ensuing years there have been many books written about the VCs and the actions that brought about their award, but in "The Complete Victoria Cross", Kevin Brazier has for the first time listed these awards chronologically. He does this not once but twice, the first giving name and rank of the recipient, the date of the action, place of burial and location of the VC itself. The second list repeats the name and rank of the recipient and the date of the action and then goes on to give a description of the act of valour. It is not clear why there are two chronological lists, especially as Brazier concludes the book with a third list, this time alphabetical. Despite this, Kevin Brazier has produced a comprehensive handbook on the Victoria Cross, one which will doubtless grace the shelves of many a military and genealogical researcher.
 



 

Queen Victoria and the Crimea

George Housman Thomas (1824-1868)
The Queen distributing the first Victoria Crosses in Hyde Park, 26th June 1857
 
The Royal Collection © 2004, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
 
Further Information
The first man to receive his Victoria Cross from the Queen was Commander Raby. He was followed shortly by Lieutenant Hewett (5th in line), Gunner Robarts (6th), Seaman Reeves (10th) and Boatswain Curtis (11th). It is no small coincidence that all five would be buried in Portsmouth and three of them in Highland Road Cemetery.

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