TEETHING PROBLEMS, 1856–1867 55
rejection. When the Adjutant General spoke with the cold voice of authority,
without giving any reason, the aspirant was unable to protest any specific
point. In due course the War Office developed a flinty briskness in dealing
with denials of VC recommendations. One such rejection, posted during the
Mutiny, read in total:
I have the honour, by the direction of the Commander in Chief in India,
to inform you, with reference to your letter of the 10th August, that the
recommendations for the decoration of the Victoria Cross in behalf of the
Officers and Soldiers named in the Margin, of the Regiment under your
command, has not been confirmed by the Board appointed to investigate
claims to this distinction.^42
The letter did not even refer to the commanding officer of the regiment by
name.
Despite the chilliness of the rejection notices, some men persisted in
pestering the War Office, Horse Guards and even Victoria herself for what
they considered their just reward. The 44th Regiment presented Horse
Guards with a pair of notable controversies of this kind in the wake of the
Crimea.
Corporal William Courtney, who had lost an eye in combat and had been
invalided from the service protested the award of the VC to Sergeant William
McWheeney shortly after the award was gazetted inThe Times:
Sergeant WILLIAM M’WHEENEY (No. 2,802) – Volunteered as a sharp-
shooter at the commencement of the siege, and was in charge of the
party of the 44th Regiment; was always vigilant and active, and signalized
himself on October 20, 1854, when one of his party, private John Keane,
44th Regiment, was dangerously wounded in the Woronzoff road, at the
time the sharpshooters were repulsed from the quarries by overwhelming
numbers. Sergeant M’Wheeney, on his return, took the wounded man
on his back, and brought him to a place of safety. He was also the
means of saving the life of Corporal Courtney. This man was one of
the sharpshooters, and was severely wounded in the head December 5,
- Sergeant M’Wheeney brought him in from under fire and dug up a
slight cover with his bayonet, where the two remained until dark, when
they retired. Sergeant M’Wheeney volunteered for the advance guard of
General Eyre’s brigade, in the Cemetery, June 18, 1855, and was never
absent from duty during the war.^43