George Bell Chicken VC (2 March 1833 – May 1860) was a British sailor and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. He was one of only five civilians to be awarded the VC, and was awarded the medal for actions while serving ashore as a volunteer in the Indian Naval Brigade during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

in 1858. In 1860, he returned to sea, and died while in command of schooner ''Emily'' which was lost in a storm in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

Early life and Victoria Cross

Chicken was born on either 2 or 6 March 1833 at either Howdon Pans,

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, or Bishopswearmouth,

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

. He was the son of George Chicken and his wife, Elizabeth (née Bell). During the

, Chicken volunteered for service as a civilian, and on 31 July 1858, he was taken on strength at HMS ''Calcutta''. As an acting-master, he served several months at

Fort William, India Fort William, officially Vijay Durg, is a fort in Hastings, Calcutta (Kolkata). It was built during the early years of Britain's administration of Bengal. It sits on the eastern banks of the River Hooghly, the major distributary of the Rive ...

, before being assigned to No. 3 Detachment of the Indian Naval Brigade. He deployed with them to Jagdispur, in Bengal, to provide artillery support. He was 25 years old when fighting in the action that resulted in his being awarded the VC. On 27 September 1858, at Suhejnee (Sahejani), near Peroo,

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, Chicken was attached to a party of

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

from the Bengal Military Police Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant

Charles George Baker Major General and Lewa Pasha Charles George Baker (8 December 1830 – 19 February 1906) was a British Merchant Navy officer, a Bengal Army officer, a Turkish Army officer, and head of the Egyptian Police. He was responsible for the rescu ...

, and accompanied by a detachment of the 3rd Sikh Irregular Cavalry commanded by Lieutenant William Edward Delves Broughton. They routed a force of about 700 mutineers and in the pursuit which followed, Chicken forged ahead and charged into the middle of about 20 mutineers, killing five before he was forced off his horse and injured, sustaining severe wounds to his left wrist and left shoulder joints. He would have been killed if four of his fellow troopers had not arrived and rescued him. William johnstone victoria cross

Lieutenant Baker wrote the following about Chicken's conduct in a despatch to Captain Gordon, Field Adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Turner's Field Force: A note was attached from Captain Rattray, commanding officer of the Bengal Military Police Battalion that included the following: This note was forwarded to Lieutenant-Colonel W. W. Turner, Commander of the Troops on the Grand Trunk Road, who attached the following about Mr. Chicken: When this note reached the Commander-in-Chief of the Army in India, Lord Clyde, the following was included in a note sent to the Governor-General

Lord Canning Charles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning (14 December 1812 – 17 June 1862), also known as the Viscount Canning and Clemency Canning, was a British politician and Governor-General of India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the first ...

: His citation in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' reads:

Further information

Chicken was one of only five civilians to be awarded the VC. His VC is described as "the only Naval VC to be won on horse-back". After the action at Suhejnee, Chicken served in the naval brigade for another two years. He was lost at sea in May 1860 when his schooner ''Emily'' was reportedly lost with all hands in the

during bad weather.

The medal

The VC was originally sent to India for presentation to Chicken; however, he died before it could be bestowed upon him and the medal subsequently went missing. As a result, another medal was struck and was sent to his father, a master mariner of Shadwell, on 4 March 1862. The VC and other items came up for sale in Canada in 1987. In 2006, the medal – believed to be the original that was sent to India, and not the one sent to the recipient's father – was purchased by

Lord Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and was ...

. It is displayed as part of the collection in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, London.

References

Bibliography

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External links

George Bell Chicken, V.C. (1833–1860)
''(biography & research information)''
Supplement to ''The London Gazette,'' January 31st 1859 (Casualty Roll)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicken, George Bell 1833 births 1860 deaths British recipients of the Victoria Cross Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross Deaths due to shipwreck at sea People from Wallsend Military personnel from Tyne and Wear