Thomas Esmonde, VC (25 May 1829 – 14 January 1872) was a

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 ...

officer and an Irish 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 ...

(VC), 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.

Early life and family

Esmonde was born in Pembrokestown,

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

, the son of Commander James Esmonde of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. His older brother was Sir John Esmonde, 10th Baronet, and he was the great-uncle of

Eugene Esmonde Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde, (1 March 1909 – 12 February 1942) was a distinguished Irish pilot in the Fleet Air Arm who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarde ...

, who was to be awarded the Victoria Cross in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Esmonde was educated at the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

-run

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

, County Kildare, from 1840 to 1846. In 1851 he was commissioned as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the 18th Royal Irish Regiment and served with them in the Second Burmese and

Crimean Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

Wars, gaining promotion to captain in April 1855.

VC action

Esmonde was a 26 years old

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

18th Regiment of Foot 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. It is an even composite number. Mathematics 18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors and no smaller number ha ...

(later The Royal Irish Regiment) in the British Army during the siege of Sebastopol,

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, when the following deeds took place on the 18 and 20 June 1855 for which he was awarded the VC: For his Crimean service, Esmonde was also made a Brevet Major in December 1857. He received his VC from Queen Victoria on 2 August 1858 at Southsea, Hampshire.

Later years

In November 1858, Esmonde married Matilda O'Kelly, with whom he had five children. In May 1865 he was appointed Deputy Inspector-General of the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

, while remaining in the army on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...

on the unattached list, where he was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in December 1868. He formally retired from the army in April 1871. While out hunting in Belgium, Esmonde suffered a severe eye injury when his horse rode into a bush. This led to his hospitalisation and ultimately caused his death in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

on 14 January 1872, at St Julian's Hospital. He was buried at the . In 2017 his grave was restored by volunteers from the Victoria Cross Trust. Esmonde's medals, including his VC, are in the possession of the Esmonde family, and have been loaned to 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 ...

in London for display in the Ashcroft Gallery.

Literature

* Roland Rotsaert ''Thomas Esmonde en zijn graf op de Centrale Begraafplaats'', in: Brugs Ommeland, 2017.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esmonde, Thomas People educated at Clongowes Wood College Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Crimean War British Army personnel of the Second Anglo-Burmese War Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922) officers Military personnel from County Waterford 1829 births 1872 deaths Irish officers in the British Army Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross