Alexander Wright (VC)
{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Alexander Wright
|image= The Battle of Sebastopol.png
|image_size= 275
|caption= Depiction of the Siege of Sebastopol
|birth_date= 1826
|death_date= 28 July {{death year and age|1858|1826}}
|birth_place= Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland
|death_place= Calcutta, India
|placeofburial=
|nickname=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= British Army
|serviceyears=
|rank= Private
|unit= 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot
|commands=
|battles= Crimean War
Indian Mutiny
|awards= Victoria Cross
|laterwork=
}}
Alexander Wright VC (1826 – 28 July 1858) was a British Army soldier and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Background
Alexander Wright was born in Ballymena, in what is now Northern Ireland.{{cite web |title=Queen's Regiment Victoria Cross Awards |url=http://queensregimentalassociation.org/vc-awards.html# |website=queensregimentalassociation.org |accessdate=23 May 2020}}{{cite web |title=The Dictionary of Ulster Biography |url=http://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/1974 |website=newulsterbiography.co.uk |accessdate=23 May 2020}}
Details
He was about 29 years old, and a private in the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot (later The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own)), British Army during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 22 March 1855 at the Siege of Sebastopol, in the Crimean Peninsula, Private Wright distinguished himself in repelling a sortie. On 19 April he showed great bravery at the taking of the Russian Rifle Pits and was particularly noticed for the encouragement he gave the other men while holding the Pits under very heavy fire; he was wounded in this action. He again showed great courage on 30 August 1855, and throughout the war.{{London Gazette |issue=21971 |date=24 February 1857 |page=661 }}
Wright and John Park were the only two soldiers of the 77th Regiment awarded the Victoria Cross for the Crimean War. In 1857, both were with their regiment when it was allotted to New South Wales and missed the first VC investiture at Hyde Park, London, on 26 June 1857. The medals were sent to the General Officer Commanding New South Wales who presented the medals in Sydney in 1858 as the regiment was preparing to sail to India. Craig Wilcox notes ‘The Victoria Crosses awarded Sergeant Park and Private Wright of the 77th Regiment were conferred hastily, almost furtively, as the regiment was about to leave Sydney, to help suppress the Indian Mutiny’.
He was killed in action on 28 July 1858 during intense fighting in Calcutta. His body was not recovered and he has no known grave.{{cite web |title=Alexander Wright VC |url=http://vconline.org.uk/alexander-wright-vc/4588580650 |website=vconline.org.uk |accessdate=23 May 2020}}
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) Museum in Dover Castle, England.{{cite book |last1=Brazier |first1=Kevin |title=The Complete Victoria Cross: A Full Chronological Record of All Holders of Britain's Highest Award for Gallantry |date=2015 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=978-1-4738-7206-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vrLNDwAAQBAJ&q=alexander+wright+vc&pg=PA1 |accessdate=23 May 2020 |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
=Sources=
- [http://www.newsletter.co.uk/ballymena-heritage/Private-Alexander-Wright--Ballymena.3194030.jp Profile]
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
- {{cite journal|first=Brian D. H.|last=Clarke|title=A register of awards to Irish-born officers and men|journal=The Irish Sword|volume=XVI|issue=64|pages=185–287|year=1986}}
- Ireland's VCs {{ISBN|1-899243-00-3}} (Dept of Economic Development, 1995)
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Alexander}}
Category:19th-century Irish people
Category:Irish soldiers in the British Army
Category:People from Ballymena
Category:Middlesex Regiment soldiers
Category:Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:Crimean War recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:Military personnel from County Antrim
Category:British Army personnel of the Crimean War
Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:British military personnel killed in the Indian Rebellion of 1857