Patrick Mullane VC (October 1858 – 20 November 1919) was 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 and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 later achieved the rank of

regimental sergeant-major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by a warrant officer (WO) in the British Army, the Royal Marines, and the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations. It is also an actual rank in the Irish ...

Early life

Mullane was born in

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

, India, the son of Marguerite and Private Patrick Mullane, Royal Artillery.

Award details

He was about 21 years old, and a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

when the following deed took place during the

battle of Maiwand The Battle of Maiwand (Dari: نبرد میوند, Pashto: د ميوند جگړه), fought on 27 July 1880, was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Under the leadership of Ayub Khan, the Afghan forces defeated a much sma ...

for which he was awarded the VC:

Sothebys near sale of the medal 1904

Royal Horse Artillery fleeing from Afghan attack at the Battle of Maiwand

The

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

auction house in London were about to auction the medal that had previously been sold by Patrick Mullane's relatives.

References

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
(E. London) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mullane, Patrick Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Horse Artillery soldiers 1858 births 1919 deaths 19th-century Irish people Irish soldiers in the British Army Second Anglo-Afghan War recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Ahmednagar British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel in colonial India

Early life

Award details

Sothebys near sale of the medal 1904

References

Further reading

External links