History Section - Sappers VCs

The Victoria Cross was founded by Royal Warrant on 29th January 1856, and was originally intended to be awarded to members of the Royal Navy and British Army who, serving in the presence of the enemy, should have performed some signal act of valour or devotion to their country.

There has been 1354 VCs awarded since the inception of the decoration in 1856 and some 55 have gone to sappers of one sort or another, 26 of which are held by the Museum.

The selection of those listed below has been drawn from Colonel Gerald Napier's book The Sapper VCs and has been done on the principle "Once a sapper, always a sapper". In this case the term "sapper" refers to all those who have been awarded the VC whilst serving with British Empire forces after they had been either commissioned or enlisted as a member of a British or Empire military engineer corps, whatever their rank, specialty or national allegiance.

Sapper VC recipients

Ex-Sappers VC recipients

VC recipients who won their VCs prior to serving with the Royal Engineers

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Sapper Adam ARCHIBALD VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Sambre-Oise canal at Ors, France
		Date:	4 November 1918 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	218 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Captain Fenton AYLMER VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Hunza-Naga, North-West Frontier, India
		Date:	2 December 1891 (Huza-Naga expedition 1891)
		Unit:	4 Company, Bengal Sappers and Miners
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Corporal Cyril Royston Guyton BASSETT VC Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers	Location:	Chunuk Bair ridge, Gallipoli.
		Date:	7 August 1915. (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	New Zealand Division Signal Company
		Held by:	Privately held
	Lieutenant Mark Sever BELL VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Ordashu, Gold Coast (now Ghana)
		Date:	4 February 1874 (Ashanti War 1874)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Second Lieutenant Premindra Singh BHAGAT VC Corps of Indian Engineers	Location:	near Metemma, Abyssinia (now Ethiopia)
		Dates:	31 January-1 February 1941 (Second World War 1939-45)
		Unit:	21 Field Company, Bombay Sappers and Miners
		Held by:	Bombay Sapper Group Museum, Kirkee, Poona, India

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Lieutenant John Rouse Merriott CHARD VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Rorke's Drift, Natal (now South Africa)
		Date:	22-23 January 1879 (Zulu War 1879)
		Unit:	5 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Privately held
	Major Brett Mackay CLOUTMAN VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Quartes Bridge at Pont-sur-Sambre
		Date:	6 November 1918. (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	59 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Brigadier-General Clifford COFFIN VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Westhoek Ridge, Ypres, Belgium
		Date:	31 July 1917 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	Commanding the 25 Infantry Brigade
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Lieutenant James Morris Colquhoun COLVIN VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Bilot, Mamund Valley, India (now Pakistan)
		Date:	16 September 1897 (North West Frontier War 1897-98)
		Unit:	4th Company Bengal Sappers and Miners
		Held by:	Privately held

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Corporal James Lennox DAWSON VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Loos, France
		Date:	13 October 1915 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	187 Special Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Glasgow University
	Lieutenant Robert James Thomas DIGBY JONES VC (Posthumously) Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Wagon Hill, Ladysmith, South Africa
		Date:	6 Januay 1900 (Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902)
		Unit:	23 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Lieutenant James DUNDAS VC Corps of Royal Engineers (late Bengal Engineers)	Location:	Dewangiri, Bhutan
		Date:	30 April 1865 (Bhutan War 1864-66)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Privately held
	Sergeant Thomas Frank DURRANT VC (Posthumously) Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	off St Nazaire, France
		Date:	27-28 March 1942. (Second World War 1939-45)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached to No 1 Commando
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Lieutenant Howard Crawfurd ELPHINSTONE VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Sebastopol, Crimea
		Date:	18 June 1855 (Crimean War 1854-56)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Privately held

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Major George de Cardonnel Elmsall FINDLAY VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	on the Sambre-Oise canal, near Catillon, France
		Date:	4 November 1918. (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	409 (Lowland) Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Sergeant Samuel FORSYTH VC (Posthumously) Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers	Location:	Grévillers, France
		Date:	24 August 1918 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	New Zealand Engineers attached to 2nd Battalion Auckland Regiment.
		Held by:	Privately held

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Lieutenant Charles Augustus GOODFELLOW VC Bombay Engineers	Location:	Kathiawar, India
		Date:	6 October 1859 (Waghers' Rebellion, India 1859)
		Unit:	Bombay Engineers (with 4 Company Bombay Sappers and Miners)
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Lieutenant Gerald GRAHAM VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Sebastopol, Crimea
		Date:	18 June 1855 (Crimean War 1854-56)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Sapper William HACKETT VC (Posthumously) Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Givenchy, France
		Date:	26 June 1916 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	254 Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Lieutenant Reginald Clare HART VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	in the Bazar Valley, Afghanistan
		Date:	31 January 1879 (Second Afghan War -1878-80)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Privately held
	Lieutenant Duncan Charles HOME VC Bengal Engineers	Location:	Cashmere Gate, Delhi, India
		Date:	14 September 1857 (Indian Mutiny - 1857)
		Unit:	Bengal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Privately held

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Lieutenant James John McLeod INNES VC Bengal Engineers	Location:	Sultanpore, India
		Date:	28 February 1858 (Indian Mutiny 1857-8)
		Unit:	Bengal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Lance-Corporal Charles Alfred JARVIS VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Jemappes, Belgium
		Date:	23 August 1914 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	57 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Birmingham Museum
	Second Lieutenant Frederick Henry JOHNSON VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Loos, France
		Date:	25 September 1915 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	73 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Privately held
	Captain William Henry JOHNSTON VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Missy, near Moulin des Roches, River Aisine, France
		Date:	14 September 1914. (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	59 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Corporal Frank Howard KIRBY VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	near Bronkhorstspruit, Delagoa Bay Railway, Pretoria, South Africa
		Date:	2 June 1900 (Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902)
		Unit:	No 1 Field Troop, Royal Engineers, 1st Division
		Held by:	Privately held
	Second Lieutenant Cecil Leonard KNOX VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Tugny, France
		Date:	22 March 1918 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	150 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Privately held

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Captain Edward Pemberton LEACH VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Maidanak, Afghanistan
		Date:	17 March 1879 (Afghanistan War 1878-9)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Colour Sergeant Peter LEITCH VC Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners	Location:	Sebastopol, Crimea
		Date:	18 June 1855 (Crimean War 1854-6)
		Unit:	2 Company, Royal Sappers and Miners
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Corporal William James LENDRIM VC Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners	Location:	Sebastopol, Crimea
		Date:	14 February 1855 (Crimean War 1854-56)
		Unit:	7th Company, Royal Sappers and Miners
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Lieutenant Wilbraham Oates LENNOX VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Sebastopol, Crimea
		Date:	20 November 1854. (Crimean War 1854-56)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Second Lieutenant Cyril Gordon MARTIN VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Spanbroekmolen, Belgium
		Date:	12 March 1915 (First World War 1914-18).
		Unit:	56 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Colour Sergeant Henry McDONALD VC Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners	Location:	Sebastopol, Crimea
		Date:	19 April 1855 (Crimean War 1854-6)
		Unit:	10th Company, Royal Sapper and Miners
		Held by:	Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum
	Corporal James McPHIE VC (Posthumously) Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Canal de le Sensée, near Aubencheul-au-Bac, France
		Date:	14 October 1918 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	416 (Edinburgh) Field Company
		Held by:	Imperial War Museum, London
	Captain Coulson Norman MITCHELL VC Royal Canadian Engineers	Location:	Canal de I'Escaut, north-east of Cambrai
		Date:	8-9 October 1918 (First World War 1914-18).
		Unit:	1 Tunnelling Company, 4th Canadian Engineers
		Held by:	Military Engineers Museum, Canada BC

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Lieutenant Philip NEAME VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Neuve-Chapelle, France
		Date:	19 December 1914 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	15 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Imperial War Museum, London

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Private John PERIE VC Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners	Location:	Sebastopol, Crimea
		Date:	18 June 1855 (Crimean War 1854-56)
		Unit:	8th Company, Royal Sappers and Miners
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Lieutenant Harry North Dalrymple PRENDERGAST VC Madras Engineers	Location:	Mundisore, India
		Date:	21 November 1857 (Indian Mutiny 1857)
		Unit:	Madras Engineers (B Company, Madras Sappers and Miners)
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Lieutenant Claud RAYMOND VC (Posthumously) Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Talaku, Burma
		Date:	22 March 1945 (Second World War 1939-45)
		Unit:	58 Observation Squadron, 303 Indian Brigade
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
No portrait available	Corporal John ROSS VC Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners	Location:	Sebastopol, Crimea
		Date:	21 July 1855 (Crimean War 1854-56)
		Unit:	2nd Company, Royal Sappers and Miners
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
No portrait available	Lieutenant Philip SALKELD VC Bengal Engineers	Location:	Cashmere Gate, Delhi, India
		Date:	14 September 1857 (Indian Mutiny - 1857)
		Unit:	Bengal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Privately held
	Corporal Michael SLEAVON VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Jhansi, India
		Date:	3 April 1858 (Indian Mutiny - 1857-8)
		Unit:	12th Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Privately held
No portrait available	Sergeant John SMITH VC Bengal Sappers and Miners	Location:	Cashmere Gate, Delhi, India
		Date:	14 September 1857 (Indian Mutiny - 1857)
		Unit:	Bengal Sappers and Miners
		Held by:	Privately held

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Second Lieutenant Edward Talbot THACKERAY VC Bengal Engineers	Location:	Delhi, India
		Date:	16 September 1857 (Indian Mutiny - 1857)
		Unit:	Bengal Engineers
		Held by:	South African Military History Museum
	Captain William Spottiswoode TREVOR VC Corps of Royal Engineers (late Bengal Engineers)	Location:	Dewangiri, Bhutan
		Date:	30 April 1865. (Bhutan War 1864-66)
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Major Arnold Horace Santo WATERS VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Sambre-Oise canal near Ors, France
		Date:	4 November 1918 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	218 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum
	Lieutenant Thomas Colclough WATSON VC Corps of Royal Engineers	Location:	Bilot, Mamund Valley, India (now Pakistan)
		Date:	16 September 1897
		Unit:	Royal Engineers attached Malakand Field Force
		Held by:	Privately held
	Captain Theodre WRIGHT VC (Posthumously) Corps of Royal Engineers	Location and date:	Mons on 23 August 1914 and Vailly on 14 September 1914. (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	57 Field Company, Royal Engineers
		Held by:	Royal Engineers Museum

Historical background related to these VCs and the development of the Corps can be found on the Corps History page

Ex-Sapper VC recipients

VC recipients who won their VCs after transferring from the Royal Engineers.

Name and Citation		Victoria Cross Details
	Sergeant John CARMICHAEL VC Enlisted into the Corps in June 1915, served with 415 (Lowland) Field Company before transferring to 8th Sherwood Forest Regiment in late 1915, then transferred to the 9th Staffords in 1917.	Location:	Hill 60, Zwarteleen Begium
		Date:	8 September 1917 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	9th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales)
		Held by:	Staffordshire Regiment Museum, Lichfield
	Captain Lanoe George HAWKER VC Commissioned into the Royal Engineers in July 1911, transferred to Royal Flying Corps in July 1914.	Location:	over the Western Front
		Date:	25 July 1915 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	6 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps
		Held by:	Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London
	Major Edward MANNOCK VC (Posthumously) Commissioned into the Royal Engineers in June 1916, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps on 6 April 1917.	Location:	France and Flanders
		Date:	17 June 1918 (First World War 1914-18)
		Unit:	85 Squadron, Royal Air Force
		Held by:	Privately held
	Captain James Thomas Byford McCUDDEN VC Enlisted as a Royal Engineers Bugler in 1910 transferred in to Royal Flying Corps in 1913.	Location:	Northern France
		Date: