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John Berryman (VC)

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John Berryman
Depiction of the Charge of the Light Brigade
Born(1825-07-18)18 July 1825
Dudley, England
Died27 June 1896(1896-06-27) (aged 70)
Woldingham, England
Buried
St Agatha's Churchyard, Woldingham
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
RankMajor
Unit17th Lancers
5th Lancers
Battles / warsCrimean War
Anglo-Zulu War
AwardsVictoria Cross

John Berryman VC (18 July 1825 – 27 June 1896) was a British Army non-commissioned officer and a 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.

Victoria Cross action

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Born in Dudley, England, Berriman was 29 years old, and a Troop Sergeant-Major in the 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 25 October 1854 at Balaclava, Crimea, (see Charge of the Light Brigade) Troop Sergeant-Major Berryman, whose horse had been shot under him, stopped on the field with a wounded officer amidst a storm of shot and shell. Two sergeants (John Farrell and Joseph Malone) came to his assistance and between them they carried the wounded officer out of range of the guns.[1] [2]

Further information

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Berryman later achieved the rank of major and transferred to the 5th Lancers in 1880.

He died at Woldingham, Surrey

References

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  1. ^ "No. 21971". The London Gazette. 24 February 1857. p. 655.
  2. ^ Brighton, Terry, Hell Riders: the Truth about the Charge of the Light Brigade. London: Penguin, 2005 ISBN 0-14-101831-3.
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