William Johnstone (VC)

William Johnstone
Born(1823-08-06)6 August 1823
Hanover, Germany
Died20 August 1857(1857-08-20) (aged 34)
Buried
Buried at sea
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
RankStoker
UnitHMS Arrogant
Battles / warsCrimean War
AwardsVictoria Cross

William Johnstone VC (6 August 1823 – 20 August 1857) was a Royal Navy sailor 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. He enlisted and served as John Johnstone.[1]

He is listed as being born in Hanover [2] and served on four ships; the St. Vincent, an emigrant ship transporting people to Australia (1845-1849),[3] HMS Reynard (1849-1852) which operated in the China Seas, fighting pirates and was shipwrecked near Pratas Island in the South China Sea on 31 May 1851. The whole crew survived the sinking when HMS Pilot rescued them. There was no hope for the Reynard. After that, he moved on to HMS Arrogant and then HMS Brunswick.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Symbol was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Royal Naval Museum Library (2005). "Biography: John Bythesea VC". Royal Naval Museum Library. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  3. ^ The St. Vincent made a number of voyages to the Australian colonies and was the last convict ship that reached Tasmania in 1853 but did not transport convicts to the Australian colonies while Johnstone was aboard.