John Williams | |
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| Birth name | John Fielding |
| Born | (1857-05-24)24 May 1857[1] |
| Died | 25 November 1932(1932-11-25) (aged 75)[1] Llantarnam,Cwmbran, Wales |
| Buried | St Michael's Churchyard, Llantarnam |
| Branch | British Army |
| Years of service |
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| Rank | Sergeant |
| Service number | 25B/1395 |
| Unit |
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| Battles / wars |
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| Awards | Victoria Cross South Africa Medal[2] |
John WilliamsVC (bornJohn Fielding; 24 May 1857 – 25 November 1932) was aWelsh recipient of theVictoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded toBritish andCommonwealth forces.
He was a native of Monmouthshire. He lived and died in that county. He was born to Irish Catholic parents. When serving in the military, he gave a false surname of Williams, rather than his more distinct family name of Fielding. It was during his six years of active service that he was decorated with the Victoria Cross for his bravery at Rorke's Drift in 1879. Upon completing active service, he was an army reservist for the next six years, and extended this by four years. When his time was expired, he enlisted in the Volunteer Battalion of the local regiment.
After he was discharged to civilian life, he married, and was a father to six children. In 1914 his wife died in the spring, and his eldest son, who had followed his father's footsteps to join the army, was killed in September. He had re-enlisted and served in the regimental depot at Brecon, as an instructor. He died in 1932.
John Fielding was the second eldest[3] of ten children.[4] John's parents were Michael and Margaret Godsil, who married in Abergavenny, Wales, in 1855.[5][6] Both Michael (1831–1914) and Margaret (1835–1921) were from Cork, Ireland[6] as documented in the 1911 census.[4] Michael Fielding died at the age of 82[3] and is buried in the Cwmbran cemetery. John was born[7] at Merthyr Road, Abergavenny.[3] The entire family wereCatholic.[3][8]
John was 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall.[3] Born Fielding, he enlisted under the name of Williams in the Monmouthshire Militia in January 1877.[9][a] More than three months later,[7][3] he enlisted under regular terms of service in the British Army on 22 May 1877[11] at Monmouth.[12]
Williams was 21 years old, and aprivate in the 2nd Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot (laterThe South Wales Borderers),British Army during theAnglo-Zulu War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 22–23 January 1879 atRorke's Drift, Natal,South Africa, Private Williams and two other men held a distant room of the hospital for more than an hour until they had no ammunition left, when the Zulus burst in and killed one of the men and two patients. Meanwhile, Private Williams had succeeded in knocking a hole in the partition and took the two remaining patients through into the next ward. He was there joined byAlfred Henry Hook, and working together (one holding the enemy at bayonet point while the other broke through three more partitions) they were able to bring eight patients into the inner line of defence. His citation read:
Private John Williams was posted with Private Joseph Williams, and Private William Horrigan, 1st Battalion 24th Regiment, in a distant room of the hospital, which they held for more than an hour, so long as they had a round of ammunition left: as communication was for the time cut off, the Zulus were enabled to advance and burst open the door; they dragged out Private Joseph Williams and two of the patients, and assagaied them. Whilst the Zulus were occupied with the slaughter of these men a lull took place, during which Private John Williams, who, with two patients, were the only men now left alive in this ward, succeeded in knocking a hole in the partition, and in taking the two patients into the next ward, where he found Private Hook.These two men together, one man working whilst the other fought and held the enemy at bay with his bayonet, broke through three more partitions, and were thus enabled to bring eight patients through a small window into the inner line of defence.[13]
Williams was presented with hisVC inGibraltar by Major-General Anderson,Governor of Gibraltar in 1880.[14]
Fielding served with the battalion until 1883, after six years ofservice with the colours, when he returned to the UK from India aboardHMSMalabar[15] and was transferred to thereserves.[3][7][16] He extended his reserve service by four years, up to 1893.[17][18][b] He was recorded in the 1891 census as living with his wife and five children atLlantarnam, and employed as a labourer.[20] He later achieved the rank ofSergeant in the3rd (Monmouthshire) Volunteer Battalion, South Wales Borderers,[7] and had his portrait painted in 1895.[21] In 1914, he re-enlisted for service and served on the SWB Depot staff atBrecon throughoutWorld War I.[22][23][17] He married Elizabeth Murphy in 1884 (deceased 1914)[24] and they had three sons and three daughters. One son was killed while serving with the 1st Battalion SWB during theFirst Battle of the Aisne in 1914.[25][7]
He died from heart failure inCwmbran on 25 November 1932.[1] The nursing home directly opposite his burial place inLlantarnam,Cwmbran,[26] was later named in his honour, as was a local pub, the John Fielding, where a picture of him is displayed.[27]
His Victoria Cross was donated to the SWB Museum by the Fielding family and is displayed at theRegimental Museum of The Royal Welsh in Brecon, Powys, Wales.[27][28][1]
TheSouth Wales Argus reported in January 2019 that the annual parade to remember Fielding's heroism had been cancelled for "health and safety" reasons.[29]
Notes
Citations
transcriptions of 26,472 campaign veterans, including those of the 24th Foot, from WO 100/46 and other ledgers
SEARCH where name=Fielding AND Born: Cork, Ireland AND Street address: 49 Grange Road AND Piece: 32025 AND Registration District Number: 587
SEARCH where name=Godsil AND Married: 1855 AND In: Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales AND Volume: 11a AND Page: 93
He was born on May 24, 1857, at Abergavenny. His father was a gardener who moved to Cwmbran when John was five... He was an adventurous spirit, and he joined the Monmouthshire Militia in 1877, when 20 years of age. After three months with the Militia, he joined the 24th Foot, and to do so ran away from home and gave the name of Williams. He served in the Kaffir and Zulu Wars of 1877-8-9 and later in India until 1883, when, time expired he returned to his home at Cwmbran. But he did not give up his military associations, and joined the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the South Wales Borderers, in which he held the rank of Sergeant. His eldest son, Tom Fielding, was also a soldier... He was killed on September 26, 1914.
The deceased, who was a parishioner of Our Lady's, was born at Abergavenny.
I was born at Abergavenny in 1858," he said, "and enlisted on January 22, 1877-two years to the day before the first fight at Rorke's Drift. We got to South Africa in the beginning of 1878.
Search WHERE surname is Williams AND first name is John AND regtno=6621 Result states that: Date of attestation: 1877-01-29; Address: Near Holly Bush Inn, Cwmbran
The recent visit to Gibraltar of Warrant Officer Johnson Beharry, recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), provides the perfect opportunity to re-discover the long and close association between the Rock and those who have been awarded the highest accolade for bravery that can be bestowed by Britain and the Commonwealth.
By Lt Col (retd) Francis Brancato, Chairman of the Gibraltar Branch of the Royal British Legion
The Malabar, iron screw Indian troopship, Capt. Henry Hand, arrived in Portsmouth this forenoon from Bombay with military invalids and time-expired men.
Williams's real name was Fielding, but he assumed the name Williams when he ran away and enlisted in the South Wales Borderers in 1877.... Pte. Williams was discharged from the Army Reserve [Section D] in 1893, but rejoined for the duration of the [Great] war, and served at the depot at Brecon.
Section D Reserve For men who had completed their time in Section B Reserve. They could commit for four years and were placed in Section D Reserve.
SEARCH where name=John Fielding AND lived in Llantarnam
Index Card for John Williams VC, Service Numbers 15277, 1395 within series 242/0914/WIL-WIL
SEARCH where name=Elizabeth Fielding AND Death: 1914 AND In: Llanfihangel Llantarnam, Monmouthshire, Wales AND Volume: 11a AND Record Type: Burial AND Event Date: 3 Jun 1914 AND Gender: Female
Speaking on the 130th anniversary of the battle [in 2009], John Fielding's great-grandson, Robert Cousins told BBC Wales: "The VC itself of course is in the South Wales Borderers' museum in Brecon, but we still have a few mementos.
Bibliography
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)A fictionalised account authored by Horatio Clare
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