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‘Hollowell of the deadly rifle’
c.1825-1876

Lance Corporal James Hollowell (occasionally spelt ‘Holliwell’), VC, the son of John Thomas Hollowell, a carpenter, and his wife Sarah, was born in Lambeth,ÌýLondon, about 1825.¹ÌýAged about 33, James was awarded theÌýVictoria Cross for valour displayed during the Relief of Lucknow, inÌýBengal, India. He died in London, in 1876, and was buried in theÌýCorps of Commissionaires plot at Brookwood Cemetery, near Woking, in Surrey.

James became a Private, serving in India with the 78th Regiment ofÌýFoot, Queen’s Own Highlanders (later the ‘Seaforth Highlanders’),Ìýwhich had been raised in Rossshire in 1793. (The proportion of ScotsÌýin the regiment had begun to decline in the 1840s, after replacementsÌýfor forces lost during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1837-42) wereÌýrecruited from across the entire United Kingdom).²

The Anglo-Persian War

During the winter of 1856-7 James served in the brief Anglo-PersianÌýWar waged between the United Kingdom and Iran. Resisting IranianÌýclaims on the city of Herat, the British campaigned on two fronts –ÌýBusshehr (on the South coast of Persia), and Southern Mesopotamia. Their victory at KhushabÌýin February 1857 was considered so decisive that Lieutenant General James Outram, who ledÌýthe campaign, was awarded the Grand Cross of the Bath (GCB).

The Relief of Lucknow

Shortly afterwards James’s regiment returned to India, and became embroiled in attempts toÌýquell the Mutiny (‘First War of Independence’) which erupted at Meerut in May 1857.

By September of that year James was serving under Major-General Sir Henry Havelock,Ìýattempting to relieve the siege at Lucknow, Bengal. On 26 September 1857 JamesÌýsuccessfully defended a burning house in which he and nine ‘dispirited’ men were beingÌýbesieged by rebel sepoys, who were firing at them through four windows. James reportedlyÌý‘behaved throughout the day in the most admirable manner’. By ‘exposing himself fearlessly’Ìýand using his talents to direct, encourage and lead the others, he and the group managed ‘toÌýmake a successful defence’.³

Surgeon Anthony Dickson Home, who was also awarded a VC, described the day’s events inÌýmore detail:

‘Private Hollowell, a straggler from the 78th Highlanders, was the crack shot of our littleÌýband. Whenever the enemy came forward to storm the house, he repeatedly killed theÌýforemost man; and the rest fell back. At last, he had the opportunity of taking a long shotÌýat their chief leader – a vociferous old man with a red beard and turban, and armed withÌýa sword and shield – who died on the spot. After that, most of the enemy went away.ÌýAnd none too soon, as we had only seven rounds left to fire’.⁴

Referred to as a â€Èٳٰù²¹²µ²µ±ô±ð°ù’ on that day, when the troops under Major-General Havelock forcedÌýtheir way into the Residency of Lucknow, James was part of the group assigned to escort theÌýwounded men who had been left behind by the main column. The escort group was ‘reducedÌýto a few stragglers’ (Hollowell, Home and ‘seven more staunch soldiers’), when severalÌýmembers themselves became casualties.

After becoming separated from the main column this small party, and the wounded men inÌýtheir care, found themselves isolated in ‘Dhooley Square’,Ìýoutside the Farhad Bakhsh Palace. They were forced down ‘aÌýcramped lane overhung with houses’, inside one of which ‘theyÌýdefended themselves till it was set on fire’. They then retreatedÌýto a shed a few yards away, and ‘continued to defendÌýthemselves for more than twenty-two hours, till relieved’.

James was recommended for a Victoria Cross for his actions onÌýthat day, and promoted to Lance Corporal.⁵ On 15 June 1858 heÌýwas presented with his VC by Outram (Havelock having died in the meantime).

The Victoria Cross had been introduced by Queen Victoria in 1856, to honour acts of valour conducted ‘in the presence of the enemy’. Worn with its distinctive crimson ribbon as the first decoration in a row of medals, it takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals. Altogether 182 Victoria Crosses were awarded for acts of valour performed during the Indian Mutiny. Recipients were granted an annuity of £10 per annum.⁶

Corps of Commissionaires, London

James’s regiment left India and returned to the UK in 1859. Proudly declaring his ‘rank orÌýprofession’ as ‘V.C.’, andÌýhis age as ’37’, JamesÌýmarried Sarah Whicher atÌýSt Mary’s Church, SpitalÌýSquare, Whitechapel,ÌýLondon, on 6 April 1862.ÌýSarah, the daughter ofÌýJames Whicher, aÌýmillwright, had been born inÌýCamberwell. At the time of their marriage the couple were living at Commercial Street, London.ÌýThe ceremony was witnessed by Sarah and Emma ‘Holliwell’.

Over the next few years James and Sarah had three sons: George, Thomas and James. AfterÌýworking for some time as a labourer,⁷Ìý‘Hollowell of the deadly rifle’, as he became known,Ìýjoined the Corps of Commissionaires, which had been founded in 1859 to provide employmentÌýfor military veterans. James, a ‘square-built, upright man in a policeman’s uniform, on theÌýbreast of which are many medals and the Victoria Cross’,⁸ kept order on the street outside E Moses and Son, a gentleman’s outfitters on New Oxford Street, London.

The firm regularly advertised in the London press as ‘Merchant Tailors and Outfitters for allÌýClasses’, selling ‘every description of clothing, readymade or made to measure, for all ages, all occasions and all classes’. An indication of James’s working hours is given in the note about their opening hours: ‘E Moses and Son’s Establishments are closed every FridayÌýevening at sunset, till Saturday at sunset, when business is resumed until Eleven o’clock’. ⁹

The ‘many medals’ on James’s chest which accompanied his Victoria Cross included the IndiaÌýGeneral Service Medal, and the India Mutiny Medal. James’sÌýIndia General Service Medal had one clasp, ‘Persia’, awarded forÌýhis service in the Anglo-Persian War under Lieutenant-GeneralÌýSir James Outram. His India Mutiny Medal had two clasps: theÌýfirst, ‘Defence of Lucknow’, referred to his role in the relief force,Ìýled by Major-General Sir Henry Havelock; the second, ‘Lucknow’,Ìýto his service in the eventual recapture of Lucknow, led byÌýLieutenant-General Sir Colin Campbell.

In 1867 James was interviewed several times by ArchibaldÌýForbes, a prominent war correspondent, to whom he suppliedÌýdetailed, colourful descriptions of his Asian military experiences. Forbes paidÌýhim 5 shillings for each interview, on the understanding that he might use James’sÌýreminiscences as background material for a novel about the Indian Mutiny, to be serialised inÌýhis journal ‘The London Scotsman’ (which ran from 1867-71).¹⁰

On his 1871 census return James described himself as a ‘Beadle’, aged 46, living with his wifeÌýSarah and their children at 20 Gloucester Street, Holborn, London.¹¹ He died there, aged aboutÌý51, on 4 April 1876, and was buried four days later in an unmarked grave in the Corps ofÌýCommissionaires Plot at Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey.

After his death James’s family continued to live in the Whitechapel area. Census returns showÌýthat his widow, Sarah, became employed as a ‘Church Attendant’. Their eldest son, George,Ìýbecame a ‘Librarian’ and, later, an ‘Assurance Agent’ with the Prudential; Thomas progressedÌýfrom being a ‘Telegraph Messenger’ to a ‘Post Office Clerk’, and, eventually, ‘Overseer,ÌýLondon Postal Services’. Their youngest son, James, who was only 7 years old when hisÌýfather died, was educated at the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, following which he servedÌýwith the Royal Artillery until his death at Nova Scotia in 1895.

Commemorating James Hollowell, VC

In 2019 James’s Victoria Cross, allegedly cast from bronze taken from a gun captured at theÌýSiege of Sevastopol (1854-55), was placed on public display at theÌýRegimental Museum of the Queen’s Own Highlanders, at FortÌýGeorge, near Ardersier, Invernessshire, Scotland. (Prior to thisÌýdate the museum’s medal collection had been kept in ‘secureÌýstorage’, with replica medals being displayed to the public).

In October 2020 James’s regiment erected a permanent memorialÌýto him, in the form of a CWGC (Commonwealth War GraveÌýCommission) pattern headstone on Plot 125 (the Corps ofÌýCommissionaires plot), at Brookwood Cemetery.

By Â鶹´«Ã½member Rachel Magowan

References

¹ Hollowell, James, bapt. 8 Jan 1826 (Baptism Certificate). Together with James’s own age declarations atÌýmarriage (aged 37 in 1862) and on a census return (aged 46 in 1871), this date of baptism suggests that JamesÌýwas probably born in 1825. However, on the gravestone (erected by his regimental association in 2020), hisÌýyear of birth is shown as 1823.
²ÌýFairrie, Lt Col Angus, 1998, ‘Cuidich’n Righ’: A History of the Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons). Quoted in: Wikipedia (78th Highlanders)
³ Outram, Sir James, GCB, Major General, 14 Oct 1857, Extract from Divisional Orders
⁴ Victoriacrossonline.com
⁵ Gazette, 18 Jun 1858
⁶ Original Warrant, Clause 14 (Wikipedia)
⁷ Holliwell, George Jonathan, 17 Jan 1864 (Baptism Certificate), shows his father James’s ‘Quality, Trade orÌýProfession’ as ‘Labourer’.
⁸ Daily News, 10 Feb 1876
⁹ Bee-Hive, 12 Feb 1876
¹⁰ Victoriacrossonline.com
¹¹ UK Census, 2 Apr 1871