Victoria Cross Medal Find

[Kev]

Not my story but a friends......

✅ VICTORIA CROSS MEDAL update: from a member of my metal detecting group on Facebook Tobias Nehmy Neto
and what a fantastic story as well.........

On the 17th December last year, whilst metal detecting on the River Thames foreshore in London, I came across an artefact which I subsequently determined to be a Victoria Cross medal, dated 5th November 1854.

Over the last few months, I have invested a substantial amount of time researching the origin of my find which I reported to the Museum of London. I have been supported in this work by Ms Kate Sumnall, the Finds Liaison Officer, at the Museum of London. My aim has been to establish to whom the medal had been awarded and how it ended up on the Thames foreshore.

I'm very pleased to inform you that the Victoria Cross medal was awarded to John Byrne, a Sergeant of the 68th Regiment of Foot, who fought at the Battle of Inkerman in the Crimean Peninsula in 1854. Sergeant Byrne was the first soldier of The Durham Light Infantry to be awarded the Victoria Cross.

According to our investigations, Sergeant Byrne, originally from County Kilkenny, Ireland, moved to Newport, Wales, in 1879. At that time, Sergeant Byrne was involved in a fight allegedly related to the award of his Victoria Cross medal. Sergeant Byrne accidentally, or in self defence, shot his assailant in the shoulder. In a fit of regret and despair, Sergeant Byrne fled to London, disposed of his Victoria Cross medal in the River Thames, and subsequently returned to Newport. On the following day, Sergeant Byrne was found dead in his house at Crown Street, Newport: he had committed suicide.

This summer, I took the opportunity to visit St Woolos cemetery in Newport where Sergeant Byrne was reported to have been buried. I was very pleased to find his gravestone with his name.

Recently I was approached by the Museum of London which offered to hold an exhibition about the Victoria Cross medal I found. The exhibition will run from 10th November for 6 weeks, almost a year since I first found it.

[handyman [Alan}]

great story Kev. a very interesting read indeed.

last weekend our club had a small rally and we turned up a military button with 69 on it ... it turns out to be a royal welsh button, One of their citations is rourkes drift! ... and to cap it off, the farmers wife has welsh connections!!!

we also had a 26th and 64th turn up .... in fact 5 buttons of the 64th were recovered!

But as for the victoria cross story ... thats superb!  well done

[wagis]

wow what a story and how sad it ended for the person

[Val Beechey]

Thanks for posting that story Kev.

Great find, good research and result.

My Great Grand Father & Mother are buried in St.Woolos cemetery. He, John Copp, saved some men from drowning when the small ferry boat they were in capsized. I have a News Paper clip of the incident. Unfortunately he wasn't awarded any medals.

[hotmill]

That's a great story! Well done on the find and the research.

[dingdong]

Many,many thanks for posting a great story,YOU deserve a medal for all the research and time you put in to bring your quest to a very successful ending......👏👏👏👏👏.......👍

[marknewbury1]

How excellent find and research

[wittsy1]

That's the sort of story I like, thanks very much for sharing.

[Resurgam]

                            A superb find, well researched, and interestingly presented. A sad end to a brave and noble man who was probably suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. Not for him the lavish support of counselling and continued recognition of his bravery on the battle field. I hear tell that after the battle of Rork's Drift, the top brass said that they did no more than fight like rats in a trap. 

                           I guess that some things "must" have changed since then?

[jimjoiner]

Great story well done.

[congerman]

interesting post thanks for sharing

[Johnboy25]

Great story,thanks for posting it.