List of Victoria Cross recipients of the Indian Army

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The Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross (VC) was awarded to 153 members of the British Indian Army and civilians under its command, from 1857 until independence in 1947. The Victoria Cross is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other Orders, decorations and medals. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and to civilians under military command. The VC is traditionally presented to the recipient by the British monarch during an investiture at Buckingham Palace, though in a large number of cases this was not possible and it was presented in the field by a prominent civil or military official. The VC was introduced in Great Britain on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War.

Indian troops were not originally eligible for the VC, because since 1837 they had been eligible for the Indian Order of Merit—the oldest British gallantry award for general issue. When the VC was created, Indian troops were still controlled by the Honourable East India Company, and did not come under Crown control until 1860. European officers and men serving with the Honourable East India Company were not eligible for the Indian Order of Merit; the VC was extended to cover them in October 1857. It was only at the end of the 19th century that calls for Indian troops to be awarded the VC intensified. Indian troops became eligible for the award in 1911. The first awards to Indian troops appeared in the London Gazette on 7 December 1914 to Darwan Sing Negi and Khudadad Khan. Negi was presented with the VC by King George V two days earlier, on 5 December 1914, during a visit to troops in France. He is one of a small number of soldiers presented with his award before it appeared in the London Gazette.

There have been a total of 148 VC recipients who were serving with an Indian Army or Honourable East India Company (HEIC) unit. 63 VCs were awarded to British officers and men of the HEIC during the Anglo-Persian War (1856–1857) and the Indian Mutiny of 1857. 33 VCs were awarded for action in various campaigns between the mutiny in 1857 and the First World War. 18 VCs were awarded for action in the First World War, and 30 in the Second World War. In addition to these, 5 civilians under military command were awarded the VC.

Recipients

      This along with the *, indicates that the Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously.

Name	Unit	Date of action	Conflict	Place of action
Adams, JamesJames Adams	Bengal Ecclesiastical Department	1879	Second Afghan War	Killa Kazi, Afghanistan
Adams, RobertRobert Adams	Corps of Guides	1897	Tirah Campaign	Nawa Kili, India
Aikman, FrederickFrederick Aikman	0044th Bengal Native Infantry	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Amethi, India
Aitken, RobertRobert Aitken	01313th Bengal Native Infantry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Allmand, MichaelMichael Allmand	Indian Armoured Corps	1944*	Second World War	Pin Hmi Road Bridge, Burma
Andrews, HenryHenry Andrews	Indian Medical Service	1919*	Waziristan Campaign	Waziristan, India
Baker, CharlesCharles Baker	Bengal Police Battalion	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Suhejnee, Bengal
Bhagat, PremindraPremindra Bhagat	Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners	1941	Second World War	Metemma, Abyssinia
Blair, JamesJames Blair	0022nd Bombay Light Cavalry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Neemuch, India
Boisragon, GuyGuy Boisragon	Indian Staff Corps	1891	Hunza-Naga Campaign	Nilt Fort, India
Brown, FrancisFrancis Brown	0011st European Bengal Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Narnoul, India
Browne, SamSam Browne	04646th Bengal Native Infantry	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Seerporah, India
Bruce, WilliamWilliam Bruce	05959th Scinde Rifles	1914*	First World War	Givenchy, France
Buckley, JohnJohn Buckley	Commissariat Department	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Butler, ThomasThomas Butler	0011st European Bengal Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Cadell, ThomasThomas Cadell	0022nd European Bengal Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Cafe, WilliamWilliam Cafe	05656th Bengal Native Infantry	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Fort Ruhya, India
Carter, HerbertHerbert Carter	Poona Mounted Infantry	1903	Fourth Somaliland Expedition	Jidballi, Somaliland
Channer, GeorgeGeorge Channer	Bengal Staff Corps	1875	Perak War	Perak, Malaya
Chase, WilliamWilliam Chase	02828th Native Infantry	1880	Second Afghan War	Kandahar, Afghanistan
Chicken, GeorgeGeorge Chicken	Indian Naval BrigadeIndian Naval Brigade	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Peroo, Bengal
Clogstoun, HerbertHerbert Clogstoun	01919th Madras Native Infantry	1859	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Chichumbah, India
Cobbe, AlexanderAlexander Cobbe	King's African Rifles	1902	Third Somaliland Expedition	Erigo, Somaliland
Connolly, WilliamWilliam Connolly	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Jhelum, India
Cook, JohnJohn Cook	Bengal Staff Corps	1878	Second Afghan War	Peiwar Kotal, Afghanistan
Costello, EdmondEdmond Costello	02222nd Punjab Infantry	1897	Tirah Campaign	Malakand, India
Creagh, GarrettGarrett Creagh	Bombay Staff Corps	1879	Second Afghan War	Kam Dakka, Afghanistan
Crimmin, JohnJohn Crimmin	Bombay Medical Service	1889	Third Burmese War	Lwekaw, Burma
Cubitt, WilliamWilliam Cubitt	01313th Bengal Native Infantry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Chinhut, India
Cumming, ArthurArthur Cumming	01212th Frontier Force Regiment	1942	Second World War	Kuantan, Malaya
Dast, MirMir Dast	05555th Coke's Rifles (Frontier Force)	1915	First World War	Wieltje, Belgium
Daunt, JohnJohn Daunt	01111th Bengal Native Infantry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Chota Behar, India
de Pass, FrankFrank de Pass	03434th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse	1914*	First World War	Festubert, France
Diamond, BernardBernard Diamond	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Bolandshahr, India
Din, FazalFazal Din	01010th Baluch Regiment	1945*	Second World War	Meiktila, Burma
Duffy, ThomasThomas Duffy	0011st Madras European Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Dundas, JamesJames Dundas	Bengal Engineers	1865	Bhutan War	Dewan-Giri, India
Fitzgerald, RichardRichard Fitzgerald	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Bolandshahr, India
Fitzgibbon, AndrewAndrew Fitzgibbon	India Medical Establishment	1860	Third China War	Taku Forts, China
Forrest, GeorgeGeorge Forrest	Bengal Veterans Establishment	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Fosbery, GeorgeGeorge Fosbery	0044th Bengal European Regiment	1863	Umbeyla Campaign	North-West Frontier, India
Ghadge, YeshwantYeshwant Ghadge	0055th Mahratta Light Infantry	1944*	Second World War	Upper Tiber Valley, Italy
Ghale, GajeGaje Ghale	0055th Gurkha Rifles	1943	Second World War	Chin Hills, Burma
Gill, PeterPeter Gill	Loodiana Regiment	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Benares, India
Goodfellow, CharlesCharles Goodfellow	Bombay Engineers	1859	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Kathiawar, India
Gough, HughHugh Gough	0011st Bengal European Light Cavalry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Alumbagh, India
Gough, CharlesCharles Gough	0055th Bengal European Cavalry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Khurkowdah, India
Grant, CharlesCharles Grant	Indian Staff Corps	1891	Manipur Expedition	Thobal, Burma
Grant, JohnJohn Grant	0088th Gurkha Rifles	1904	British expedition to Tibet	Gyantse Jong, Tibet
Gurung, BhanbhagtaBhanbhagta Gurung	0022nd Gurkha Rifles	1945	Second World War	Snowdon East, Tamandu, Burma
Gurung, LachhimanLachhiman Gurung	0088th Gurkha Rifles	1945	Second World War	Taungdaw, Burma
Gurung, ThamanThaman Gurung	0055th Gurkha Rifles	1944*	Second World War	Monte San Bartolo, Italy
Haidar, AliAli Haidar	01313th Frontier Force Rifles	1945	Second World War	Fusignano, Italy
Hafiz, AbdulAbdul Hafiz	0099th Jat Infantry	1944*	Second World War	Imphal, India
Hamilton, WalterWalter Hamilton	Corps of Guides	1879	Second Afghan War	Futtehabad, Afghanistan
Hammond, ArthurArthur Hammond	Bengal Staff Corps	1879	Second Afghan War	Kabul, Afghanistan
Harington, HastingsHastings Harington	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Hills, JamesJames Hills	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Home, DuncanDuncan Home	Bengal Engineers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Jotham, EustaceEustace Jotham	05151st Sikhs	1915*	First World War	Tochi Valley, India
Innes, JamesJames Innes	Bengal Engineers	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Sultanpore, India
Jadav, NamdeoNamdeo Jadav	0055th Mahratta Light Infantry	1945	Second World War	Senio River, Italy
Jarrett, HansonHanson Jarrett	02626th Bengal Native Infantry	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Baroun, India
Jennings, EdwardEdward Jennings	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Judge, KaramjeetKaramjeet Judge	01515th Punjab Regiment	1945*	Second World War	Meiktila, Burma
Kavanagh, ThomasThomas Kavanagh	Bengal Civil Service	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Keatinge, RichardRichard Keatinge	Bombay ArtilleryBombay Artillery	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Chundairee, India
Kenny, WilliamWilliam Kenny	03939th Garhwal Rifles	1920	Waziristan Campaign	Kot Kai, India
Kerr, WilliamWilliam Kerr	02424th Bombay Native Infantry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Kolapore, India
Khan, KhudadadKhudadad Khan	129129th Duke of Connaught's Own Baluchis	1914	First World War	Hollebeke, Belgium
Khan, ShahamadShahamad Khan	08989th Punjabis	1916	First World War	Beit Ayeesa, Mesopotamia
LalaLala	04141st Dogras	1916	First World War	El Orah, Mesopotamia
Lama, GanjuGanju Lama	0077th Gurkha Rifles	1944	Second World War	Ningthoukhong, Burma
Laughnan, ThomasThomas Laughnan	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Lyster, HarryHarry Lyster	07272nd Bengal Native Infantry	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Calpee, India
Macintyre, DonaldDonald Macintyre	Bengal Staff Corps	1872	Looshai Expedition	Lalgnoora, India
MacLean, HectorHector MacLean	Corps of Guides	1897*	Tirah Campaign	Nawa Kili, India
Mahoney, PatrickPatrick Mahoney	0011st Madras European Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Mungulwar, India
Malcolmson, JohnJohn Malcolmson	0033rd Bombay Light Cavalry	1857	Anglo-Persian War	Khoosh-ab, Persia
Mangles, RossRoss Mangles	Bengal Civil Service	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Arrah, India
Mayo, ArthurArthur Mayo	Indian Naval BrigadeIndian Naval Brigade	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Arrah, India
Maxwell, FrancisFrancis Maxwell	Indian Staff Corps	1900	Second Boer War	Korn Spruit, South Africa
McDonell, WilliamWilliam McDonell	Bengal Civil Service	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Arrah, India
McInnes, HughHugh McInnes	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
McGovern, JohnJohn McGovern	0011st Bengal Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
McGuire, JamesJames McGuire	0011st Bengal Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Melliss, CharlesCharles Melliss	Indian Staff Corps	1900	Third Ashanti Expedition	Obassa, Ashanti
Meynell, GodfreyGodfrey Meynell	01212th Frontier Force Regiment	1935*	Second Mohmand Campaign	Mohmand, India
Miller, JamesJames Miller	Bengal Ordnance Depot	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Futtehpore, India
Moore, ArthurArthur Moore	0033rd Bombay Light Cavalry	1857	Anglo-Persian War	Khoosh-ab, Persia
Negi, DarwanDarwan Negi	03939th Garhwal Rifles	1914	First World War	Festubert, France
Negi, GobarGobar Negi	03939th Garhwal Rifles	1915*	First World War	Neuve Chapelle, France
Olpherts, WilliamWilliam Olpherts	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Park, JamesJames Park	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Phillipps, EverardEverard Phillipps	01111th Bengal Native Infantry	1857*	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Pitcher, HenryHenry Pitcher	0044th Punjab Infantry	1863	Umbeyla Campaign	North-West Frontier, India
Prendergast, HarryHarry Prendergast	Madras Engineers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Mundisore, India
Probyn, DightonDighton Probyn	0022nd Punjab Cavalry	1857 1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	India
Pun, TulbahadurTulbahadur Pun	0066th Gurkha Rifles	1944	Second World War	Mogaung, Burma
Rai, AgansingAgansing Rai	0055th Gurkha Rifles	1944	Second World War	Bishenpur, Burma
Ram, BhandariBhandari Ram	01010th Baluch Regiment	1944	Second World War	Arakan, Burma
Ram, ChheluChhelu Ram	0066th Rajputana Rifles	1943*	Second World War	Djebel Garci, Tunisia
Ram, KamalKamal Ram	0088th Punjab Regiment	1944	Second World War	Gari River, Italy
Ram, RichhpalRichhpal Ram	0066th Rajputana Rifles	1941*	Second World War	Keren, Eritrea
Rana, KaranbahadurKaranbahadur Rana	0034th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles	1918	First World War	El Kefr, Egypt
Raynor, WilliamWilliam Raynor	Bengal Veterans Establishment	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Renny, GeorgeGeorge Renny	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Ridgeway, RichardRichard Ridgeway	Bengal Staff Corps	1879	Basuto War	Konoma, India
Roberts, FrederickFrederick Roberts	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Khodagunge, India
Roddy, PatrickPatrick Roddy	Bengal Army	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Kuthirga, India
Rolland, GeorgeGeorge Rolland	0011st Bombay Grenadiers	1903	Third Somaliland Expedition	Daratoleh, Somaliland
Rosamund, MatthewMatthew Rosamund	03737th Bengal Native Infantry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Benares, India
Ryan, JohnJohn Ryan	0011st Madras European Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Ryan, MilesMiles Ryan	101101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Bengal Fusiliers)	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Salkeld, PhilipPhilip Salkeld	Bengal Engineers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Sartorius, ReginaldReginald Sartorius	0066th Bengal Cavalry	1874	First Ashanti Expedition	Abogu, Ashanti
Scott, AndrewAndrew Scott	Bengal Staff Corps	1877	Balochistan Campaign	Quetta, India
Shah, SherSher Shah	01616th Punjab Regiment	1945*	Second World War	Kyeyebyin, Burma
Singh, BadluBadlu Singh	01414th Murray's Jat Lancers	1918*	First World War	River Jordan, Palestine
Singh, ChattaChatta Singh	0099th Bhopal Infantry	1916	First World War	Wadi, Mesopotamia
Singh, GianGian Singh	01515th Punjab Regiment	1945	Second World War	Kamye, Burma
Singh, GobindGobind Singh	02828th Light Cavalry	1917	First World War	Épehy, France
Singh, IsharIshar Singh	02828th Punjab Regiment	1921	Waziristan Campaign	Haidari Kach, India
Singh, NandNand Singh	01111th Sikh Regiment	1944	Second World War	Maungdaw-Buthidaung Road, Burma
Singh, ParkashParkash Singh	0088th Punjab Regiment	1943	Second World War	Donbaik, Burma
Singh, PrakashPrakash Singh	01313th Frontier Force Rifles	1945*	Second World War	Kanlan Ywathit, Burma
Sarup Singh, RamRam Sarup Singh	0011st Punjab Regiment	1944*	Second World War	Kennedy Peak, Burma
Singh, UmraoUmrao Singh	Royal Indian Artillery	1944	Second World War	Kaladan Valley, Burma
Sinton, JohnJohn Sinton	Indian Medical Service	1916	First World War	Orah Ruins, Mesopotamia
Shebbeare, RobertRobert Shebbeare	06060th Bengal Native Infantry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Smith, JohnJohn Smith	Bengal Sappers and Miners	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Smith, JohnJohn Smith	0011st Madras European Fusiliers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Smith, JohnJohn Smith	Indian Staff Corps	1891	Hunza-Naga Campaign	Nilt Fort, India
Smyth, JohnJohn Smyth	01515th Ludhiana Sikhs	1915	First World War	Richebourg L'Aouve, France
Thackeray, EdwardEdward Thackeray	Bengal Engineers	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Thapa, KulbirKulbir Thapa	0034th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles	1915	First World War	Fauquissart, France
Thapa, LalbahadurLalbahadur Thapa	0022nd Gurkha Rifles	1943	Second World War	Rass-es-Zouai, Tunisia
Thapa, NetrabahadurNetrabahadur Thapa	0055th Gurkha Rifles	1944*	Second World War	Bishenpur, Burma
Thapa, Sher BahadurSher Bahadur Thapa	0099th Gurkha Rifles	1944*	Second World War	San Marino, Italy
Thomas, JacobJacob Thomas	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Tombs, HenryHenry Tombs	Bengal Horse ArtilleryBengal Horse Artillery	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Delhi, India
Travers, JamesJames Travers	0022nd Bengal Native Infantry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Indore, India
Trevor, WilliamWilliam Trevor	Bengal Engineers	1865	Bhutan War	Dewan-Giri, India
Tytler, JohnJohn Tytler	06666th Bengal Native Infantry	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Choorpoorah, India
Vousden, WilliamWilliam Vousden	0055th Punjab Cavalry	1879	Second Afghan War	Kabul, Afghanistan
Walker, WilliamWilliam Walker	0044th Gurkha Rifles	1903	Third Somaliland Expedition	Daratoleh, Somaliland
Waller, WilliamWilliam Waller	02525th Bombay Light Infantry	1858	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Gwalior, India
Watson, JohnJohn Watson	0011st Punjab Cavalry	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Lucknow, India
Wheeler, GeorgeGeorge Wheeler	0099th Gurkha Rifles	1917	First World War	Shumran, Mesopotamia
Wheeler, GeorgeGeorge Wheeler	0077th Hariana Lancers	1915*	First World War	Shaiba, Mesopotamia
Whirlpool, FrederickFrederick Whirlpool	0033rd Bombay European Regiment	1857	Indian Mutiny of 1857	Jhansi, India
Whitchurch, HarryHarry Whitchurch	Indian Medical Service	1895	Chitral Expedition	Chitral Fort, India
Wood, JohnJohn Wood	02020th Bombay Native Infantry	1856	Anglo-Persian War	Bushire, Persia

References

Specific

General

• "4th Gorkha Rifles page on www.britishempire.co.uk". http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/gurkha/4thgurkhas.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-21. 
• "Victoria Cross Registers". National Archives (UK). http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/victoriacross.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-11. 
• "Honourable East India Company and Indian Army holders of the Victoria Cross". VictoriaCross.org. http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/ccinarvc.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-11. 
• Ashcroft, Michael (2006). Victoria Cross Heroes. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7553-1632-0. 
• Crook, M.J. (1975). The Evolution of the Victoria Cross. Midas books. ISBN 0-85936-041-5. 
• Parker, John (2005). The Gurkhas: The Inside Story of the World's Most Feared Soldiers. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7553-1415-7.