b. 29/01/1826 Edinburgh, Scotland. d. 27/10/1884 St Martins, Perthshire, Scotland.
John Simpson (1826-1884) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 29th January 1826. Sadly, very little is known about Simpson, other than he enlisted with the 42nd Regiment of Foot (later The Black Watch) sometime prior to the Indian Mutiny. He had risen to the rank of Quartermaster-Sergeant prior to the assault on Fort Ruhya on 15th April 1858.
John Simpson VC
In the attack, he volunteered to go and collect the wounded Lieutenant Douglas, who was lying about 40 feet away from the fort. He collected him under heavy fire, and later retrieved a badly wounded private. He was gazetted on 27th May 1859 and, along with Alexander Thompson, received his Cross on 7th April 1860.
He was later commissioned and in 1883, retired with the honorary rank of major. He died in Perth on 27th October 1884 and was buried in Balbeggie Cemetery. His medals are held by the Natural History Museum of California, Los Angeles.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA.
BURIAL PLACE: BALBEGGIE CEMETERY, ST MARTINS, PERTH, SCOTLAND.
