Thomas Arthur VC (1835 – 2 March 1902) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

soldier and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, 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. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

forces.

Victoria Cross action

Arthur was approximately 20 years old, and a gunner and driver in the

Royal Regiment of Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 7 June 1855 at Sebastopol,

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

, Gunner Arthur was in charge of the magazine in one of the left advanced batteries of the right attack, when the Quarries were taken. On his own initiative he carried barrels of infantry ammunition for the 7th Fusiliers several times during the evening, across the open. He volunteered for and formed one of the spiking party of artillery at the assault on the Redan on 18 June 1855 and on numerous occasions left the trenches to bring in wounded officers and men. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, London.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Thomas British recipients of the Victoria Cross Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Crimean War Royal Artillery soldiers Burials in Wiltshire People from Torridge District 1835 births 1902 deaths British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Devon