He was born in 1859 at 2 Peck's Cottage, All Saints, Newmarket, Suffolk,[1] the illegitimate son of Thomas Ashford, a boot maker and Emma Elsdon.

[2] He was about 21 years old, and a private in The Royal Fusiliers,[3] British Army during the Second Anglo-Afghan War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 16 August 1880 at Deh Khoja, near Kandahar, Afghanistan, Private Ashford assisted Lieutenant William St. Lucien Chase in rescuing and carrying for a distance of over 200 yards under the fire of the enemy, a wounded soldier who had taken shelter in a block-house and finally brought the wounded man to a place of safety.

His citation read:For conspicuous gallantry on the occasion of the sortie from Kandahar, on the 16th August, 1880, against the village of Deh Khoja, in having rescued and carried for a distance of over 200 yards, under the fire of the enemy, a wounded soldier, Private Massey, of the Royal Fusiliers, who had taken shelter in a blockhouse.

He was laid to rest in Whitwick Cemetery, in the presence of thousands of mourners, though the grave lay unmarked for many years, until a monument was provided by the local British Legion.