The VC diary for 14th January is again devoted to just one recipient of the highest award for gallantry – John Frederick McCrea VC. McCrea was born in Madras, India in 1854 but his parents died before he was 2 years old, and he was brought up on the island of Guernsey by his aunt. He then studied medicine at Guy’s Hospital and qualified as a surgeon. In 1879, he went to South Africa and worked at the Military Hospital in Cape Town. On 14th January 1881, at Tweefontein, South Africa, the burghers had been forced to retire under a most determined enemy attack, with a loss of 16 killed and 21 wounded. Surgeon McCrea was the only doctor present and notwithstanding a serious wound to the breast bone, which he dressed himself, he most gallantly took the casualties to shelter and attended to the wounded all day. He died in 1894 and is buried in Kokstad Cemetery, Kokstad, South Africa. His medals are displayed at the Lord Ashcroft Gallery, Imperial War Museum, London.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 06:19:16 +0000