John Buckley (VC)
| John Buckley | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
24 May 1813 Stalybridge, Cheshire |
| Died | 14 July 1876 (aged 63) Poplar, London |
| Buried at | Tower Hamlets Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch | |
| Years of service | 1832–1861 |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles/wars | Indian Mutiny |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Major John Buckley VC (24 May 1813 – 14 July 1876) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was the 115th recipient of the award and the first of 182 awarded during the Indian Mutiny (1358 have been awarded in total).
John Buckley was born in a cottage on Cocker Hill in Stalybridge, Cheshire on 24 May 1813 and was baptised in Old St George's Church. He was destined to have a tragic family life though he himself thwarted death many times. His early employment was in the textile industry working locally at Harrison's Mill and then Bayley's Mill. Recognising that his ambitions went beyond mill work, Buckley left home at Christmas 1831 to travel to Manchester, where in enlisted at the Recruiting Officer into the Bengal Artillery. He joined the Regiment as a Gunner at Chatham, On 20 June 1832 he embarked on HMS Layton at Gravesend to join his unit in India.
He married fourteen year old Mary Ann Broadway on 28 July 1835 at Chunar, India. He was then stationed at Fort William, Calcutta. Sadly, by 1845 his wife and two of his three children had died of tropical disease. He then married Esther Hunter at Allahabad, India on 17 August 1846. In 1852 the surviving daughter from his first marriage died, and in the following year two sons by his second marriage also died.
He promoted Corporal on 31 August 1840, Sergeant on 1 September 1853, and being able to speak several Indian dialects he gained a position with the Bengal Veterans' Establishment as a Sub-Conductor on 21 April 1854. He was appointed Staff Conductor on 26 May 1856, and in 1857 he took his wife and three surviving children to Delhi, where he became Assistant Commissary of Ordnance and was employed at the Great Magazine (storehouse for guns and ammunition).
Buckley was 43 years old, and a Deputy Assistant Commissary of Ordnance in the Commissariat Department (Bengal Establishment) of the British East India Company during the Indian Mutiny when the following took place on 11 May 1857 at Delhi, India for which he was awarded the VC. Deputy Assistant Commissary Buckley was one of nine men who defended the ammunition storehouse for more than five hours against large numbers of mutineers. When the wall was being scaled and hope of outside help was gone, they blew up the ammunition, killing many of the mutineers. Of the defenders, five died in the explosion and one shortly afterwards, while Buckley, George Forrest, and William Raynor survived. His citation in the London Gazette reads:
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