Buried at Buried at sea Name William Johnstone | Rank Stoker Allegiance United Kingdom Role Armed force officer | |
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Born 6 August 1823Hanover, Germany ( 1823-08-06 ) Died August 20, 1857, West Indies, Cuba | ||
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.
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Of uncertain background, he may have been a Swedish Johannsen whose name was Anglicised as Johnstone. He is listed as being born in Hanover.
Victoria Cross
He was 31 years old, and a stoker in the Royal Navy during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 9 August 1854 in the Baltic, Stoker Johnstone and a lieutenant (John Bythesea) from HMS Arrogant, landed on the island of Vårdö, Åland Islands off Finland in order to intercept important despatches from the tsar which were being sent via Vårdö to Bomarsund. The two men spent two nights reconnoitring the island and on 12 August when the despatches arrived, they ambushed the five Russians carrying them. Two of the carriers dropped their mail bags and ran but the other three surrendered and were taken to the Arrogant. In this action the officer and stoker were armed with just one pistol.
Death
He died on 20 August 1857 from self-inflicted wounds while serving aboard HMS Brunswick in the West Indies. He cut his own throat after attacking another man with a knife, and was buried at sea in the St Vincent Passage, West Indies.
Johnstone's medal is displayed in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.