Suffolk, Weybread - 1st Suffolk holder of the Victoria Cross
1830-1897 Sergeant Alfred Ablett VC DCM the first Suffolk man to win the Victoria Cross
Aged 25 he served as a Private in the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards during the Crimea War. On 2nd September 1855 during the siege of Sebastopol, Crimea, a burning shell fell into a trench containing 2 cases of ammunition. Private Ablett, at once recognising the danger to which all were exposed, seized the shell in his hands and threw it over the parapet. It exploded as it hit the ground, but not a man was injured. The entry of his gallantry was in the London Gazette 24th February 1857. His VC is on display at the Grenadier Guards RHQ, Wellington Barracks, London.
On discharge from the Army, he became a Police Officer at Millwall Docks, and lived with his family at 15 Stebondale Street, Poplar, London E14 (Isle of Dogs). He died in Poplar, East London on 12th March 1897, and is buried in St Andrew’s Churchyard.
Suffolk, Weybread - 1st Suffolk holder of the Victoria Cross
1830-1897 Sergeant Alfred Ablett VC DCM the first Suffolk man to win the Victoria Cross
Aged 25 he served as a Private in the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards during the Crimea War. On 2nd September 1855 during the siege of Sebastopol, Crimea, a burning shell fell into a trench containing 2 cases of ammunition. Private Ablett, at once recognising the danger to which all were exposed, seized the shell in his hands and threw it over the parapet. It exploded as it hit the ground, but not a man was injured. The entry of his gallantry was in the London Gazette 24th February 1857. His VC is on display at the Grenadier Guards RHQ, Wellington Barracks, London.
On discharge from the Army, he became a Police Officer at Millwall Docks, and lived with his family at 15 Stebondale Street, Poplar, London E14 (Isle of Dogs). He died in Poplar, East London on 12th March 1897, and is buried in St Andrew’s Churchyard.