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Came across this interesting VC winner. I was not aware Brits were involved in FP War.
Surgeon GeneralWilliam George Nicholas Manley, VC, CB (17 December 1831 – 16 November 1901) was a British Army officer, surgeon 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 received awards from several other countries, and is the only person to have been awarded both the VC and the Iron Cross.
He was present for the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. He was later posted with his regiment in New Zealand.
Victoria Cross
Manley was 32 years old, and an assistant surgeon in the Royal Regiment of Artillery during the Waikato-Hauhau Maori War, New Zealand when the following deed took place on 29 April 1864 near Tauranga, New Zealand, during the assault on the rebel pā ("pah") Gate Pā, for which he was awarded the VC.
When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870 he proceeded with the British Ambulance Corps, and was attached to the 22nd division of the Prussian Army. He was present for several battles, and received several decorations including the Iron Cross (second class) on the recommendation of the German Crown Prince:
Manley was awarded the honorary rank of surgeon general and retired from the army in 1884 with a distinguished service pension. Upon retirement he was made a Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He died in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 16 November 1901.
I also looked up Brit Ambulance Corps and posting from that Wiki entry as also interesting. have edited the entry to cut down word count.
The British Ambulance Corps was raised to serve with the Prussian forces, but also cared for captured French wounded during the Siege of Paris of September 1870 to January 1871.The unit's B Division was commanded by Surgeon William Manley VC, a British Army veteran of the Crimean and New Zealand Wars, and was attached to the Prussian Army's 22nd Division. The B Division tended to the wounded of the battles of Orléans (3–4 December), Cravant (10 December), Chateauneuf (18 December) and Bretoncelle (21 December).[SUP][27][/SUP] Manley was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class for his actions during the war, on the recommendation of Frederick, Crown Prince of Prussia who commanded the III Army (to which the 22nd Division belonged).
British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War
The organisation deployed several ambulances during the Franco-Prussian War.
During the course of the war, thousands of casualties were treated by the organisations at its own hospitals and in those of the French and Prussian armies. The organisation's surgeons received special permission from William, King of Prussia to cross the German lines to provide aid during the Siege of Paris.[SUP][29][/SUP]
The society continued its work after the war, serving in various European and British colonial conflicts before becoming the British Red Cross Society in 1905.
Surgeon GeneralWilliam George Nicholas Manley, VC, CB (17 December 1831 – 16 November 1901) was a British Army officer, surgeon 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 received awards from several other countries, and is the only person to have been awarded both the VC and the Iron Cross.
He was present for the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. He was later posted with his regiment in New Zealand.
Victoria Cross
Manley was 32 years old, and an assistant surgeon in the Royal Regiment of Artillery during the Waikato-Hauhau Maori War, New Zealand when the following deed took place on 29 April 1864 near Tauranga, New Zealand, during the assault on the rebel pā ("pah") Gate Pā, for which he was awarded the VC.
For his conduct during the assault on the Rebel Pah, near Tauranga, New Zealand, on the 29th of April last, in most nobly risking his own life, according to the testimony of Commodore Sir William Wiseman, Bart., C.B., in his endeavour to save that of the late Commander Hay, of the Royal Navy, and others. Having volunteered to accompany the storming party into the Pah, he attended on that Officer when he was carried away, mortally wounded, and then volunteered to return, in order to see if he could find any more wounded. It is stated that he was one of the last Officers to leave the Pah.[SUP][2][/SUP]
He also served in the same war under Sir Trevor Chute, and was present at the assault and capture of the Okotukou, Putahi, Otapawe, and Waikohou Pahs. For his services on these occasions he was again mentioned in dispatches and promoted to staff surgeon.
When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870 he proceeded with the British Ambulance Corps, and was attached to the 22nd division of the Prussian Army. He was present for several battles, and received several decorations including the Iron Cross (second class) on the recommendation of the German Crown Prince:
For services with the British Ambulance Corps caring for the wounded of the 22nd Division in the actions of Chateau-neuf and Bretoncelle, on 18th and 21st December 1870, and the battles of Orleans and Cravant, on 10th December 1870.
In 1878–79 he served with the Quetta Field force in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, and in 1882 he was in Egypt for the Anglo-Egyptian War as Principal Medical officer of the Second Division under Sir Edward Hamley and was present at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir. After this war he was promoted to Deputy Surgeon-General.
Manley was awarded the honorary rank of surgeon general and retired from the army in 1884 with a distinguished service pension. Upon retirement he was made a Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He died in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 16 November 1901.
Manley was awarded 18 medals by several countries, and was the only recipient of both the VC and the Iron Cross, the highest medals of the United Kingdom and Prussia (later part of the German Empire).
I also looked up Brit Ambulance Corps and posting from that Wiki entry as also interesting. have edited the entry to cut down word count.
The Anglo-American Ambulance was led by Confederate American Civil War veteran J. Marion Sims, who was then resident in France, and British surgeon William MacCormac.The new ambulance was partially funded by the British Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War and consisted of 8 American and 8 English medical staff with three ambulance wagons.All bar one of the Americans were former Confederate Army surgeons.
The British Ambulance Corps was raised to serve with the Prussian forces, but also cared for captured French wounded during the Siege of Paris of September 1870 to January 1871.The unit's B Division was commanded by Surgeon William Manley VC, a British Army veteran of the Crimean and New Zealand Wars, and was attached to the Prussian Army's 22nd Division. The B Division tended to the wounded of the battles of Orléans (3–4 December), Cravant (10 December), Chateauneuf (18 December) and Bretoncelle (21 December).[SUP][27][/SUP] Manley was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class for his actions during the war, on the recommendation of Frederick, Crown Prince of Prussia who commanded the III Army (to which the 22nd Division belonged).
British National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War
It aimed to serve alongside the British Army during wartime but also alongside other neutral armies when Britain was at peace.
During the course of the war, thousands of casualties were treated by the organisations at its own hospitals and in those of the French and Prussian armies. The organisation's surgeons received special permission from William, King of Prussia to cross the German lines to provide aid during the Siege of Paris.[SUP][29][/SUP]
The society continued its work after the war, serving in various European and British colonial conflicts before becoming the British Red Cross Society in 1905.