Lieutenant-Colonel William Rennie VC

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

 (1 November 1821 – 22 August 1896) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 recipient of the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 forces.

Details

Rennie was 34 years old, and a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 and adjutant in the 90th Regiment of Foot

90th Regiment of Foot

Three regiments of the British Army have been numbered the 90th Regiment of Foot:*90th Regiment of Foot , raised in 1759*90th Regiment of Foot , raised in 1779*90th Regiment of Foot , raised in 1794...

 (later The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 during the Indian Mutiny when the following deeds took place at the siege of Lucknow

Siege of Lucknow

The Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defense of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was abandoned.Lucknow was the capital of...

 for which he was awarded the VC:

Further information

Lieutenant Rennie was promoted to captain on 9 January 1863, major 10 December 1873, lieutenant-colonel 28 March 1874 and retired in 1875. He died at Elgin in August 1896, aged 75 years. His headstone is at Elgin

Elgin, Moray

Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...

 Cemetery (Lair H-96), Moray

Moray

Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...

, Scotland.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Cameronians Regimental Museum, Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. The museum had bought the medal in January 1969 for the then record value of £1700.

External links

• Location of grave and VC medal (Grampian)