This is a full account of how Renny VC got the award. Its long but well worth the read. The Medals are shown here and sold for £130000 at sale. Description: The Superb Indian Mutiny 1857 Heroic Defence Of The Delhi Magazine V.C. Group of Four to Major-General G.A. Renny, Bengal Horse Artillery, Who, Accompanied By His Troop- The Only Native Artillery Troop to Remain Loyal During the Mutiny- And Displaying Great Coolness And Contempt Of Death, Ensured the Retention of the Magazine Complex By Single-Handedly Throwing Burning Shells At Rebel Forces Intent On Retaking Their Earlier Loss, 16.9.1857; A Decade Later He Was Mentioned in Despatches For The Hazara Expedition, Where He Commanded an Elephant Battery of Artillery a) Victoria Cross, reverse of suspension bar engraved Captn. George A. Renny Bengal Horse Artly., reverse of Cross engraved 16 Sepr. 1857 b) Sutlej 1845-46, for Sobraon, no clasp (Lieut. G:A: Renny 4th. Batn. Arty.) c) Indian Mutiny 1857-58, one clasp, Delhi (Capt. G.A. Renny, 1st. Bde. Bengl. H. Art.) d) India General Service 1854-95, one clasp, Northwest Frontier (Bt. Lt. Col. G.A. Renny, VC, D By. F Bde. RA), traces of lacquer to campaign medals, contact marks, otherwise very fine (4) Notes: V.C. London Gazette 12.4.1859 Captain George Alexander Renny, Bengal Horse Artillery Lieutenant-Colonel Farquhar, Commanding the 1st Belooch Regiment, reports that he was in command of the troops stationed in the Delhi magazine, after its capture on the 16th of September, 1857. Early in the forenoon of that day, a vigorous attack was made on the post by the enemy, and was kept up with great violence for some time, without the slightest chance of success. Under cover of a heavy cross fire from the high houses on the right flank of the magazine, and from Selinghur and the Palace, the enemy advanced to the high wall of the magazine, and endeavoured to set fire to a thatched roof. The roof was partially set fire to, which was extinguished at the spot by a Sepoy of the Belooch Battalion, a soldier of the 61st Regiment having in vain attempted to do so. The roof having been again set on fire, Captain Renny with great gallantry mounted to the top of the wall of the magazine, and flung several shells with lighted fuzes over into the midst of the enemy, which had an almost immediate effect, as the attack at once became feeble at that point, and soon after ceased there. Major-General George Alexander Renny, V.C., was born in Riga, Russia (now Latvia) on the 12th May 1825, the son of Alexander Renny, and was educated at Montrose Academy and Addiscombe. Commissioned into the Bengal Horse Artillery as a Second Lieutenant in June 1844, he served during the Sutlej Campaign from the 24th January 1846, and was present at the Battle of Sobraon, 10th February, 1856. Promoted Lieutenant in October 1846, he spent the next eleven years on the plains in India, and by 1857 held the command of the 5th troop, 1st Brigade (Native), Bengal Horse Artillery. On the 10th May 1857, the Great Sepoy Mutiny began at Meerut, and soon spread like wildfire throughout the sub-Continent: Renny at this time was stationed in Jullender, and four weeks later, on the night of the 7th June, he was first called into action, ordering his native troop to fire upon the mutinous Cavalry and Infantry. Despite this order being given during the week in which there were mutinous outbreaks in no fewer than twenty-six regiments of Infantry, seven regiments of Cavalry, and eight companies of Artillery, Rennys troop remained faithful, the only battery of native Artillery to do so, and he marched with them to Delhi, arriving in late June only to find that the city had fallen to the rebels. On the 9th July, after a fanatic attack by the rebel cavalry on the right of the British camp on the Delhi Ridge, it was thought advisable, as a precautionary measure, to take away his troops guns and horses. The native officers and men begged to be allowed to prove their loyalty, but to no avail, and were placed in charge of the mortar battery on the ridge. That very evening their loyalty was tested again when a group of rebels approached and called out to them to join them, and to return with them to inside the citys walls. The loyal natives sternly replied that they obeyed orders only from their own officers. Instead, they returned to their mortar battery, which they worked and manned without relief until the end of the siege. Siege of Delhi Following the arrival in Delhi of Brigadier Nicholsons Moveable Column in August, and, finally, on the 4th September, the arrival of the siege train of 32 howitzers and heavy mortars, with more than 100 bullock carts of ammunition, an all-out attack was now possible. With the forward batteries complete, the bombardment of Delhis mighty walls began on the 12th September. The rebels responded with a storm of mortar, artillery, and musket fire that resulted in over 300 British casualties. But the battering of Delhis defences continued, and on the 14th September the great attack finally started. Given the command of No.4 Siege Battery, Renny provided covering fire for the initial assault on the city, but casualties were high- on the first day alone the Delhi Field Force lost 66 officers and over 1,000 men killed or wounded. But the primary objectives had been taken, and by noon a solid base had been established from which to continue the attack. That afternoon, taking some of his troop with him, carrying by hand a couple of 12-pounder mortars, Renny and his men entered Delhi, and were instrumental in shelling a number of houses that were being used to shelter rebel snipers. For the next five days the battle raged, and the result hung in the balance. On the 15th September the British consolidated their earlier gains, and further artillery fire was directed onto the centre of the city by Renny and his mobile troop. During the night and into the morning of the 16th September, the rebels withdrew from the suburb of Kishanganj, leaving behind five heavy guns. These were soon put to good use, and at once a breach was made in the main magazine. A party of the fourth column was ordered to storm it, and by noon the magazine was taken, and with it 171 guns and howitzers, and a vast stock of ammunition. But during the afternoon the enemy made a desperate attempt to recapture the magazine, as well as the workshops adjoining it. Advancing under covering fire, they carried the workshops, and were poised to attack the magazine. The situation was critical. Leaping onto the magazines burning roof, at great risk to himself, and displaying great coolness and contempt of death, Renny pelted the enemy with shells handed to him by his loyal troop with their fuses already burning. The effect was total, and the enemy immediately withdrew, surrendering their previous gains. Immediately Renny and his troop turned the mortars captured in the magazine onto Fort Selimghur and the Red Palace, and started a terrific bombardment, which they continued for the next four days. Finally, on the 20th September Delhi was taken. For his great gallantry at the defence of the magazine after its capture, Lieutenant Renny was mentioned in General Wilsons Despatch; promoted Captain and Brevet Major, and awarded the Victoria Cross. With the city back under British control, he and his troop served in the subsequent operations in Mozuffernuggur District and in Rohilkhand, and their final engagement of the campaign was the action at Sisseah on the 15th January 1859. His men, whose loyalty had been total, and which owed a great deal to their commanders leadership and personal influence, were singled out for the highest praise. Every Native Officer received the Order of British India, and every Non-Commissioned Officer or man received the Indian Order of Merit for their services. And, following Delhis capture, they had their guns and horses restored to them. Hazara Campaign Advanced Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in June 1867, the following year Renny served during the Hazara Campaign on the North West Frontier, as part of the expedition against the Bazoti Black Mountain tribes under Major-General A.T. Wilde, C.B., C.S.I. This short, three week campaign was the last of the 16 punitive expeditions carried out in the region over a twenty-year period that qualified for the India General Service Medals North West Frontier clasp. On the 30th July a tribal force of approximately 500 tribesmen had attacked the police station in the Agrore Valley, and for the next two weeks proved a general menace. A punitive force was quickly assembled, and Renny travelled the 65 miles up from Rawalpindi to the base camp near the village of Koongullee. At 4:00am on the 3rd October, 1868, the force set out from their camp, with Renny in command of D Battery, F Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery, his four 9-pounder guns and two 24-pounder howitzers mounted on elephants. The following morning his Battery came into action to cover the advance of the brigade against the enemy positioned on a knoll about 1,000 yards in front of the British position. In the words of Lieutenant Colonel E. Atlay, Royal Horse Artillery: Some excellent practice was made, from the effects of which the enemy were driven out of their defences previous to the arrival of the attacking column. The enemys spirit broken, the rest of the campaign was continued in the same vein, and whilst the physical conditions proved challenging, and involved the occupation of the tribesmens formidable redoubt Muchaie Peak, at 10,200 feet above sea-level one of the highest points that a British force had ever operated at, the final result was an overwhelming success with minimal casualties: The tribes of independent Hazara have learnt that British regular forces, with trains of ordnance, can, and on occasion will, penetrate the most difficult fastnesses, and carry fire and sword through glens which have hitherto been deemed inaccessible, and were never approached by the native predecessors of the British Government. For his role in bringing to the front, under many and great disadvantages, a battery of Horse Artillery suddenly converted into an Elephant Battery, which had much to contend with in the way of hard work, in mounting and dismounting its guns and carriages, and in adapting itself to the necessities of mountain warfare, so opposed to its antecedents, Renny was Mentioned in Major-General Wildes Despatches (London Gazette 15.6.1869). Major Renny was presented with his Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle on the 9th November 1860. Promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, August 1871, he commanded the Artillery in the Sind Provence, before retiring in December 1878 with the honorary rank of Major-General. He died at home in Bath in January 1887, and is buried in the citys Locksbrook Cemetery. About Invaluable
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 15:45:07 +0000
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