Thomas Esmonde
Captain (later Lietenant Colonel), 18th Regiment (To become The Royal Irish Regiment)
- Register No.
- 387 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
- Rank
- Captain (later Lietenant Colonel) (register: Captain) all Captains →
- Unit
- 18th Regiment (To become The Royal Irish Regiment) (register: 18th Regiment of Foot) all 18th Regiment of Foot VCs →
- Date of action
- 18 June 1855 on this day → all of 1855 →
- Conflict / campaign
- Crimean War
- London Gazette
- 25th september 1857 on this day → all of 1857 →
- Born
- 25th May 1829 at Pembrokestown, Ireland
- Died
- 14th January 1873 at Bruges, Belgium
- Memorial / grave
- No known Memorial
Digest of citation
On 18 June 1855 at Sebastopol, Crimea, after being engaged in the attack on the Redan, Captain Esmonde repeatedly assisted, at great personal risk, in rescuing wounded men from exposed situations. Also on 20 June while in command of a covering party he rushed to a spot where a fireball from the enemy had just lodged, and extinguished it before it could betray the position of his men, thus saving the party from a murderous fire of shell and grape which was immediately opened where the fireball had fallen
From Alf Askin's research notes
Reproduced as Alf wrote it, c. 2000–2005. Spelling and abbreviations are his own.
ESMONDE Thomas (Reg. No. 387)
Captain (later Lietenant Colonel) 18th Regiment (To become The Royal Irish Regiment)
London Gazetted on 25th september 1857 Born on: 25th May 1829 at Pembrokestown, Ireland.
Died on: 14th January 1873 at Bruges, Belgium. No known Memorial Digest of Citation reads: On 18 June 1855 at Sebastopol, Crimea, after being engaged in the attack on the Redan, Captain Esmonde repeatedly assisted, at great personal risk, in rescuing wounded men from exposed situations. Also on 20 June while in command of a covering party he rushed to a spot where a fireball from the enemy had just lodged, and extinguished it before it could betray the position of his men, thus saving the party from a murderous fire of shell and grape which was immediately opened where the fireball had fallen.
Additional Information: He was the Great-uncle of Lt. Cdr Eugene Esmonde VC. DSO., of the Fleet Air Arm (see Reg. No. 386) who was killed whilst attacking the German cruiser Prinz Eugen on the 12th February 1942. Thomas Esmonde was the son of Captain John Esmonde, of the Royal Navy, and his wife Anne Maria Murphy of Ringmahon in County Cork. His elder brother was Sir John Esmonde MP the 10th Baronet. More to be added.
Additional information
He was the Great-uncle of Lt. Cdr Eugene Esmonde VC. DSO., of the Fleet Air Arm (see Reg. No. 386) who was killed whilst attacking the German cruiser Prinz Eugen on the 12th February 1942. Thomas Esmonde was the son of Captain John Esmonde, of the Royal Navy, and his wife Anne Maria Murphy of Ringmahon in County Cork. His elder brother was Sir John Esmonde MP the 10th Baronet. More to be added.
Visit the grave or memorial
Alf recorded the memorial as: No known Memorial
Map links open a search for the place name Alf recorded; please check opening times and exact locations before travelling. Many VC graves have since been restored by the Victoria Cross Trust.
Research this recipient further
Would you like to honour Thomas Esmonde by sponsoring this page from £1 a month — in memory of someone, in your own name or for your company? Sponsor this page.