Whilst exploring the National Maritime Museum, I came across this statue of a Naval Officer and expected it to be of one of the famous admirals, but was surprised to find it was someone I hadn’t heard of and so I decided to do a little more research.
Captain Sir William Peel was the third son of Sir Robert Peel, PM of Britain and founder of the London Police Force. he served in the Crimean War and was present at the siege of Sevastopol in 1854. here he picked up an unexploded shell with a burning fuse and threw it over the parapet. It exploded just after it left his hands. For this act of bravery, he was awarded the VC.
He was present at the battle of Inkerman, where he helped defend the colours of the Grenadier guards and led the attack on the Redan., during which he was severely wounded.
After the Crimea, he served in India and was wounded again at the relief of Lucknow. Aged only 33, he caught Smallpox and died in India.
What struck me about this story was that here was a naval captain but none of the big moments in his life story were actually naval engagements.
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