In early September 1855, while still a private, he performed the deed which would earn him a Victoria Cross for bravery while in the trenches at the siege of Sebastopol.

[4][5] His VC citation in the London Gazette reads: On 2 September, 1855, seeing a shell fall in the centre of a number of ammunition cases and powder, he instantly seized and threw it outside the trench; it burst as it touched the ground.

[6][7]He was nominated for the award by his company captain who witnessed the event,[8] and was among 29 men to be presented with the medal in Hyde Park, London, on 26 June 1857 by Queen Victoria.

[11] He was one of two members of the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards who earned the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War, the other being Private Anthony Palmer.

[14] He died at his home on East India Road, Poplar, London on 12 March 1897[4] and was buried in St Andrew's churchyard, Weybread.