He was 21 years old, and a lieutenant in the 7th Regiment of Foot (later The Royal Fusiliers[2]), British Army during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 18 June 1855 at Sebastopol, Crimean Peninsula, Lieutenant Hope went to the assistance of the adjutant, who was lying outside the trenches badly wounded.

Having found that it was impossible to move him, even with the help of four men, he ran back across the open ground under very heavy fire from the enemy batteries, and procured a stretcher to bring the wounded officer in.

In 1862 he was described as General Manager of the International Financial Society, and was also Director of the Lands Improvement Company, through which he had been involved in reclamation and irrigation work in Spain and Majorca.

With William Napier, he proposed a scheme to convey sewage from the northern outfall of Joseph Bazalgette's London sewer system some 44-mile (71 km) across Essex to reclaim 20,000 acres (81 km2) of land from Dengie Flats, and a similar area from Maplin Sands, off the shore of Foulness Island.