Edward St John DANIEL, VC

Michael Daniels, PhD

Updated: 13^th June 2001

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Edward St John Daniel was born at the family home 1 Windsor Terrace, Clifton, Bristol on 17^th January 1837, the first child of a well-known Bristol attorney, Edward Daniel. His mother, Barbara Bedford, was the granddaughter of Henry Beauchamp St John, the 12^th Baron St John, and there is evidence that Edward was known as "St John" (sinjon) by his family. Edward St John Daniel was also the first cousin 12 times removed of Henry Tudor, King Henry VII (1457-1509), through their common ancestor, Henry's grandmother, Margaret Beauchamp (c. 1410-1482).

Daniel's mother died shortly after giving birth to his third sister, Lucy Gertrude, in February 1850, when Daniel was barely thirteen. The following year, just before his 14^th birthday, Daniel joined HMS Victory as a Naval Cadet. His naval education continued during a 12 months spell in HMS Dauntless, which was on detached service. In 1852, he joined the Flag-Ship HMS Winchester under Capt. Granville Loch and soon saw his first action during the second Burmese War. For this service he received the India General Service Medal, with clasp for "Pegu". During his time in Burma, he developed chronic leg ulcers, which affected him for the rest of his life.

In 1853, Daniel joined HMS Diamond as a Midshipman, under the celebrated Capt. William Peel, RN, third son of the British statesman Sir Robert Peel, founder of the modern police force. HMS Diamond was sent to the Black Sea at the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, and officers and men from the Diamond formed part of the Naval Brigade, under Capt. Stephen Lushington of HMS Albion, which assisted the Army in the land operations. Daniel was appointed ADC (Aide-de-camp) to Capt. Peel and was, by all accounts, devoted to his handsome and charismatic leader. In his memoirs, Sir Evelyn Wood, who as a 17 year old Midshipman became Daniel's fellow ADC to Capt. Peel in May 1855, writes:

"I was evidently much struck with Captain Peel's appearance and manners, for I recorded in boyish language, 'Captain Peel, very intelligent, sharp as a needle; I never saw a more perfect gentleman.' His looks and bearing were greatly in his favour, for both in face and figure there was an appearance of what sporting men, in describing well-bred horses, call 'quality' ... Before the first bombardment, Captain Peel asked Lieutenant Ridge and Midshipman Daniels (sic) of H.M.S. Diamond, and Lieutenant Douglas and Midshipman Wood of the Queen, to disregard fire in the battery, by always walking with head up and shoulders back and without undue haste. He himself was a splendid example. I know that he felt acutely every shot which passed over him, but the only visible effect was to make him throw up his head and square his shoulders." (Wood, 1906, p. 26, 42)

In a letter home from the front, penned on 16^th October 1854 (published in the Cambridge Chronicle, 9^th December 1854, p. 8, col. 2), Daniel wrote:

"Encamped off the Walls of Sebastopol, Oct. 16,

"My dearest * * * I dare say you are surprised that you have not had a line from me, but I have not had a minute to myself for the last month. We are encamped with a thousand of our blue jackets and we have twenty of our guns ashore. We have had a good many shots fired at us, but none of our men (Oct. 16), have been wounded. I am the Captain's aide-de-camp. I have been obliged to provide myself with a horse as we are six miles from Admiral Sir E. Lyons and very often I have to go to him twice a-day, and after that to go in the trenches all night with the Captain. Thank God, our battery will be completed by daylight to morrow. I am very much obliged to you for the pistols. Remember me to all. I wish aunt all happiness. Good bye; God bless you all; and if I am spared will write to you after Sebastopol is taken. - I remain your ever affectionate,

"ST. JOHN. DANIEL"

The following day, 17^th October 1854, Daniel and Wood volunteered to bring up boxes of ammunition to the Diamond Battery, under heavy Russian fire which had disabled the horses. Daniel "brought in the cartridges and powder without receiving a scratch, and the battery cheered to a man as the plucky little chap scrambled over the parapet with his last armful" (Haydon, 1908, p. 49).

On 5^th November 1854, at the grim and bloody Battle of Inkerman (or Inkermann), Daniel was a conspicuous figure as he rode around the battlefield mounted on his pony. Daniel was at his Captain's side throughout the day, as Peel led seven separate charges against the Russians and assisted the Grenadier Guards, who were cut off in a group, to defend their colours. The Cambridge Chronicle of 9^th December 1854 observed:

"Captain Peel, with his aide-de-camp, was in the thick of the fire; and at one time, when he was with the Guards, they were completely surrounded by the enemy, but it appears to me he has a charmed life, as also the little mid, young Daniel. Both escaped, as I trust they may throughout the campaign, for they are both made of the right stuff" (p. 8, col. 2)

On 18^th June 1855, during the unsuccessful assault on the Redan at Sebastopol, Capt. Peel, who had volunteered to lead the first Ladder Party, was shot through his left arm and fell back, half fainting. Daniel coolly rendered first aid under a very heavy fire, and brought Peel back to safety – actions that are said to have saved Peel's life. Although Daniel escaped injury, "his pistol-case was shot through in two places and his clothes were cut by several bullets" (Wood, 1906, p. 89).

For these three separate acts of bravery, Daniel was awarded the newly instituted Victoria Cross in the very first list of citations (London Gazette, 24^th February 1857). Daniel's citation reads:

"Sir Stephen Lushington recommends this Officer: - 1st. For answering a call for volunteers to bring in powder to the Battery, from a waggon in a very exposed position under a destructive fire, a shot having disabled the horses. (This was reported by Captain Peel, commanding the Battery at the time.)
2nd. For accompanying Captain Peel at the Battle of Inkermann as Aide-de-camp.
3rd. For devotion to his leader, Captain Peel, on the 18^th June, 1855, in tying a tourniquet on his arm on the glacis of the Redan, whilst exposed to a very heavy fire. (Despatch from Sir S. Lushington inclosed in letter from Admiral Lord Lyons, 10^th May, 1856)"

At the time, Daniel was the youngest recipient of the Cross (being just 17 when he won it). Peel also won the VC for three separate actions in the Crimea. Evelyn Wood, nearly a year younger than Daniel, was recommended for the Cross, but was not awarded it. He had left the Royal Navy in 1855 and joined the Army. However, in October 1858, Lieutenant Wood won the VC in the Indian Mutiny. He eventually rose to the rank of Field Marshal.

At his speech at the Mansion House on 15^th February 1858, Admiral Lord Lyons said:

"All behaved well, but I should doubt whether there is anything in the annals of chivalry that surpasses the conduct of Capt. Peel's Aides-de-camp, Messrs. Daniel and Wood."

Peel himself wrote to his brother, later Sir Frederick Peel:

"the names of these two heroes are known throughout the whole army, and I really sometimes thought it rather inconvenient having two such spirits with me as Messrs. Daniel and Wood."

Neither Daniel nor Peel was present when Queen Victoria made the first investitures of the Cross at a ceremony in Hyde Park on 26^th June 1857. They had been sent to China in the new steam frigate HMS Shannon, which was then diverted to Calcutta in July 1857 on receiving news of the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny. Capt. Peel formed a Naval Brigade (the famous "Shannon's Brigade") which took part in most of the Army operations during the Mutiny campaign. Daniel was an artillery officer in the Brigade and the six 8-inch guns from the ship, which had been transported more than a thousand miles across country, were a decisive factor in the Capture of Lucknow. Peel was injured in the thigh by a musket ball in the final assault at Lucknow and, while recovering from his wounds, contracted smallpox. He died at Cawnpore on 27^th April 1858, aged 33.

It seems likely that Daniel was devastated by the death of his beloved Captain, and it is possible that this may have contributed to his later downfall and disgrace. However the next two years saw Daniel achieve the peak of his career. On 13^th July 1858, Daniel was finally presented with his VC (which, with Peel's, had been forwarded to India from Hong Kong) by Capt. Francis Marten, commanding Shannon's Brigade, at a special full-dress parade held at Gyah, Bengal. In a letter to Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, written the next day, Capt. Marten describes the occasion:

"The Shannon's Brigade and a company of Madras Rifles were formed in a hollow square, under a tope of trees. I stood on a carpet in the centre, with Mr. Daniel on my right hand, and a Midshipman carried the Cross, with supporters, on my left.

I read Commodore Watson's letter ordering me to deliver the Cross to Mr. Daniel, then the letter from Commander-in-Chief to Commodore Watson on the same subject, after which I read extract from Government Gazette specifying the acts of bravery for which the Cross was conferred. I then made to Mr. Daniel a short address, and as I placed the Cross on his breast the sailors and troops presented arms, and the band played 'God Save the Queen.'

All the ladies, Military Officers and Civil Servants were present."

Peel's Cross was later sent to his brother, Sir Robert Peel, in England (it is now displayed at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich).

On 15^th September 1859, Daniel was promoted to Lieutenant. On 24^th April 1860, the Duke of Somerset presented him to Queen Victoria at a Levee held at St James’s Palace. The Queen is said to have been "much impressed by him".

In addition to the IGS medal and VC, Daniel's medals and decorations include the Crimea Medal with clasps for "Sebastopol" and "Inkerman"; Turkish Crimea Medal; Sardinian Crimea Medal; Turkish Order of Medjidie, 5^th Class; Legion d'Honneur; and Indian Mutiny Medal, with clasps for "Relief of Lucknow" and "Lucknow".

In 1860, at the age of 23, Edward St John Daniel was clearly a naval officer of outstanding prospects.

Edward St John Daniel, VC
(c. 1860)

Courtesy: Christopher St John Daniel

HMS Victory

Capt. William Peel, RN
(1855)