Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | English Cemetery, Funchal | 459 | |
Awards & Titles: | Victoria Cross British Crimean Medal 2xClasps | ||
Early Life :
Native of Eccles, Lancashire. Born in 1828.Portrait image sourced from VCOnline, where further detail can be found.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The Crimean War 1853-1856, Crimean Peninsular.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: HMS Miranda |
| Action : War Survivor |
Although many perished in times of national conflict and in the service of their country, many more survived including those interned as Prisoners of War. Stories of those who did survive are included as part of this site, especially those with high gallantry awards, those included against an external rolls of honour and those who had a distinguished career in wartime and military leaderhip.
Detail :
Commander Cecil William Buckley was reported to be the first Victoria Cross holder to be gazetted:
London Gazette "On 29 May 1855 in the Sea of Azov, Crimea, Lieutenant Buckley of HMS Miranda, with a lieutenant (Hugh Talbot Burgoyne) from HMS Swallow and a gunner (John Robarts) from HMS Ardent, volunteered to land at a beach where the Russian army were in strength. They were out of covering gunshot range of the ships offshore and met considerable enemy opposition, but managed to set fire to corn stores and ammunition dumps and destroy enemy equipment. On 3 June Lieutenant Buckley carried out another raid with a boatswain (Henry Cooper) from Miranda. They landed at the town of Taganrog and were successful in destroying enemy equipment and stores, whilst being under enemy fire."
In addition to the Victoria Cross, he was awarded the Légion d'Honneur, Order of the Medjidie, Baltic Medal, the British Crimea Medal (with clasps for Azoff and Sebastopol) and the Turkish Crimea Medal.
He died on the Portuguese island of Madiera, Portugal and is buried in the English Cemetery at Funchal.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Zetland No. 515 E.C. | Malta |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
21st January 1856 | 28th January 1856 | - |
Whilst serving as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and ashore at Malta, Cecil was initiated into Zetland Lodge No. 515 in January, 1856. This was shortly before the end of the Crimean War. He was subsequently passed but, if records are correct, never made a Master Mason. His signature appears in the attendance register next to another VC holder, William Hewett. In all there are three VC holders in Zetland Lodge.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley