Discovery of lost VC in Thameside mud reveals stories of heroism and tragedy

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,340
1,650
113
Buried in Thameside mud and only unearthed more than 160 years later, the Victoria Cross found by a lucky treasure hunter had an incredible story to tell.

Tobias Neto stumbled on the VC in December while examining the foreshore with his metal detector.

With the help of the Museum of London, Mr Neto discovered that the medal he found was one of 16 awarded for gallantry to British forces at the Battle of Inkerman on 5th November 1854.

The story that has now emerged from his chance discovery is one of both tragedy and heroism, culminating in the shooting of a young work colleague by a decorated veteran of the Crimean War who then turned the gun on himself...

Discovery of lost VC reveals stories of heroism and tragedy


The 1854 Battle of Inkerman in which VC decorated heroes John Byrne and John McDermond fought Credit: Getty Images

Patrick Sawer, Senior Reporter
21 January 2017
The Telegraph

Buried in Thameside mud and only unearthed more than 160 years later, the Victoria Cross found by a lucky treasure hunter had an incredible story to tell.

Tobias Neto stumbled on the VC in December while examining the foreshore with his metal detector.

With the help of the Museum of London, Mr Neto discovered that the medal he found was one of 16 awarded for gallantry to British forces at the Battle of Inkerman on 5th November 1854.

The story that has now emerged from his chance discovery is one of both tragedy and heroism, culminating in the shooting of a young work colleague by a decorated veteran of the Crimean War who then turned the gun on himself.

With the whereabouts of only two of the Inkerman VCs unaccounted for, the one found by Mr Neto in all likelihood belonged to a private called John Byrne - a man who appears to have been so tormented by what he had witnessed in battle he suffered a catastrophic breakdown.

Byrne, from County Kilkenny, was awarded the VC for returning to the front line to rescue a wounded comrade under heavy fire during the battle.

But following his return from the Crimea, his life appears to have spiralled out of control, as a result of suffering what would now be diagnosed as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.


The VC that was discovered by Tobia Neto on the Thames foreshore


John Byrne's grave in Newport


Archaeological treasures are regularly discovered by Thames mudlarks

While working as part of an Ordnance Survey team, Byrne became convinced his medal had been taunted by his work colleague John Watts.

In a fury, the former soldier pulled out a revolver and shot the terrified 18-year-old, wounding him on the arm.

Hours later, surrounded by a large crowd and several police officers, Byrne turned his gun on himself and pulled the trigger, taking his own life rather than give himself up.

The inquest into Byrne’s death, following his suicide inside The Crown Inn in Newport in July 1879, heard that he had probably imagined the insult.

Watts denied making the insult and told the Coroner he had simply advised Byrne to put out his pipe while on parade, as the men had previously been instructed by their commanding officer.

But Byrne clearly interpreted this as grave slight. His landlady, Eliza Morgan, told the inquest how, on returning to her lodging house, he slammed the table in fury, saying: “I served my Queen and country for 21 years and I’ll never be insulted by a curr puppy.”

She said Byrne then stormed out, declaring that Watts “isn’t fit to black my boots”.

A few hours later Byrne - having shot Watts - found himself holed up at The Crown Inn, where he told the landlord, Salter Davy, that he had shot the youth “by accident”.

Mr Davy tried to persuade Byrne to give himself up, but - confronted by a local sergeant - the soldier, his back to the fireplace, took his gun, put the barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Byrne’s troubled state of mind may explain how the VC in which he took so much pride came to end up in the Thames mud.

A Lieutenant Barklie gave evidence that Byrne had arrived in Bristol the previous October in a state of destitution and looking for work, having spent time in a lunatic asylum in the Straits Settlements - in what is now Malaysia and Singapore - before returning to Britain.

It appears that, by the time Byrne arrived in the south west of England, he may have lost or even sold his prized medal.

A report of the inquest, carried by the Monmouthshire Merlin and South Wales Advertiser of 18th July 1879, states: “When Byrne came to Bristol for his pension Lieut Barklie asked him if he knew why he had not had his cross, and he seemed rather embarrassed so the question was not pressed.”

Mr Neto, who lives near the Thames at Putney, is convinced that Byrne threw the medal in the Thames “in a fit of regret and despair”.

Byrne was buried beneath a simple gravestone in the Saint Woolos Cemetery in Newport - his story forgotten until now.

Kate Sumnall, the finds liaison officer at the Museum of London, suggests the lost medal could also have belonged to a Scottish soldier called John McDermond - the other recipient of a VC from Inkerman which has not been accounted for.


John McDermond

During the battle, McDermond saved the life of Colonel Haly of the 17th Foot Regiment who was lying wounded on the ground surrounded by the enemy.

With no thought for his own safety, 22-year-old Private McDermond rushed to the rescue and killed the Russian who had wounded the colonel.

A few weeks earlier, he had been wounded in the left hand by grapeshot during the Battle of Alma on 20th September 1854.

McDermond spent a total of 15 years in the British Army, serving in Malta, Turkey and Gibraltar, as well as the Crimea, before being invalided out of the army at the age of 33 as a result of injury.

Records held by the Royal Chelsea Hospital show he was registered as a Chelsea Pensioner in July 1862.

Some accounts have him buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave in Woodside Cemetery, Paisley - a hero unrecognised in his homeland.

Ms Sumnall said: “Given how few VCs have been awarded over the years, this was by all measures an incredible discovery. We may never establish with certainty to whom it belonged, but the stories that lie behind this medal are truly fascinating.”

Discovery of lost VC reveals stories of heroism and tragedy
 
Last edited:

Danbones

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 23, 2015
24,505
2,197
113
PTSD and the events which cause it are why only royalty and politicians and war profiteers
( and some of our trolls lol) should enter the field of battle

...the rest of us should just wish them good luck, don't forget to write