Two Germans won Britain’s highest military honour

Watching a documentary about Victoria Cross winners, I was intrigued to hear two Germans had been awarded the honour.

Can you tell me who they were and how they came to be so honoured? – B.

On January 29, 1856, Queen Victoria signed a Royal Warrant, by which a new decoration for officers and men deserving some sort of recognition was initiated.

On the Queen’s request, the award was made retrospective to 1854, the year Britain became involved in a war with Russia, which would become known as the Crimean War.

The medal can be presented to members of the British Armed Forces for “gallantry in the presence of the enemy”.

Twenty-seven men of non-British nationality have received the Victoria Cross. These were five Americans, one Belgian, three Danes, two Germans, one Swede, a Swiss, a Ukranian and thirteen Gurkhas from Nepal.

The two Germans were both awarded the VC in 1854, during the Crimean War, however, both were only German born.

William Johnstone was a sailor in the Royal Navy. He and a Lieutenant landed on an island in the Baltic and, armed with just one pistol between them, ambushed five Russians and intercepted their despatches.

The other man, Sgt-Major Charles Wooden, went out with a surgeon to assist an officer who was lying seriously wounded in an exposed position.

Under heavy fire, Wooden helped dress the officer’s wounds, saving his life.