Charles Wooden Charles Wooden VC ( 24 March 1829 – 24 April 1876 ) was a German recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Crimean War . He was awarded the Victoria Cross for acts of gallantry during the Crimean War . He was 25 years old , and a Sergeant - Major in the 17th Lancers ( Duke of Cambridge ' s Own ) , British Army . On 26 October 1854 , in the Crimea , at Balaklava , Sergeant - Major Wooden went out with surgeon James Mouat to the assistance of an officer who was lying seriously wounded in an exposed position , after the retreat of the Light Cavalry . He helped to dress the officer ' s wounds under heavy fire from the enemy . This order , carried by the young Captain Nolan and misinterpreted by Lord Lucan , began one of the most famous of all military engagements - The Charge of the Light Brigade - on 25 October 1854 . Charles Wooden rode in this action . Captain William Morris of the 17th Lancers , who , with about 20 men so far comparatively unscathed in the sea of carnage all around , came upon a squadron of Russian Hussars . Ordering his men to keep together , he rode straight at the Russian leader , running him through with his sword with such force that he toppled him over the side of his horse , and , unable to disengage his hand from his sword , fell with him . The Russians closed on Morris and slashed at him with their sabres , cutting through his forage cap until he lost consciousness . He was taken prisoner but in the confusion of the field , managed to slip away , capture a horse and make a dash for freedom , only to fall from his horse due to his wounds . Pursued by the Russians through the thick smoke of the battlefield , he caught another horse , but fell again when the horse was shot . This time the horse fell on him , trapping his leg . When he came to , in agony from a broken right arm , broken ribs and three deep head wounds , he managed to free his leg and stagger towards the British lines . By a strange co - incidence he came across the body of his good friend Captain Nolan and lay down beside it . Earlier Morris and Nolan had exchanged the letters customary by friends before battle , promising to inform the other ' s loved ones , should anything happen . Once again Morris lapsed into unconsciousness . An attempt was made by Turkish troops to recover the two bodies , but as the Russian fire rained down upon them , they dropped their charges and bolted . Then a message was sent to the 17th Lancers and Sergeant - Major Charles Wooden of the 17th Lancers ( who had ridden in the charge and had his horse shot from under him ) and Surgeon Mouat of the 6th Dragoons , struck out under heavy fire to rescue the stricken Morris . After roughly dressing his wounds , they succeeded in returning to their lines . For this action both were to be awarded Britain ' s highest military honour , the Victoria Cross . Morris survived , despite his wounds and died four years later in India . Sergeant - Major Wooden was something of a character in the 17th Lancers . One night , returning to camp the worse for wear after a drinking session , he was challenged by the sentry on guard duty , but could not remember the password . " ' tish me , " Wooden whispered in a slurred voice . " Who ? " asked the sentry . " ' tish me , ' tish me ! " came the answer . Down came the sentry ' s lance as he demanded to know just which ' me ' it was . By now in a temper , Wooden bellowed : " ' tish me , the Devil " . The sentry , now exercising his better judgement on recognising his Sergeant - Major retorted : " Pass , ' tish me the Devil ! " From that moment the nickname stuck and for the remainder of his service with the ' Death or Glory Boys ' , Wooden remained " Tish me the Devil " . Wooden , a German by birth , was not a popular man in the regiment possibly because of his odd demeanour and strong German accent . Even the award of his VC was controversial . At first he was not entered for the award although Dr Mouat was . Wooden wrote to Dr Mouat saying that if Mouat was to receive a VC then so should he as he had been at Mouat ' s side during the rescue of Lt Col Morris . Luckily for Wooden , Dr Mouat agreed and wrote to the Horse Guards supporting Wooden ' s claim . The reply to his letter reads : " His Royal Highness feels very unwilling to bring any further claim for the Victoria Cross for an act performed at so distant a period but as the decoration has been conferred on Dr James Mouat for the part he took in the rescue of Lt . Col . Morris and Sergeant - Major Wooden appears to have acted in a manner very honourable to him on the occasion and , by his gallantry , been equally instrumental in saving the life of this officer , His Royal Highness is induced to submit the case . " Wooden ' s VC was gazetted on 26 October 1858 . His VC citation reads : Wooden ' s other medal entitlement is the Crimea Medal ( with bars Alma , Balaclava , Inkerman and Sebastopol ) , Turkish Medal , French War Medal and the Indian Mutiny Medal . Later service . He was promoted to Lieutenant and Quartermaster of the 6th Dragoons in October 1860 , exchanged to the 5th Lancers in 1865 and then into the 104th Regiment of Foot ( Bengal Fusiliers ) in 1871 . On 14 April 1876 Wooden shot himself following a drinking session , having complained of severe head pains the previous week . An inquest recorded death by suicide due to temporary insanity . He was 47 years old and had served 30 years with the Army . He is buried in Dover Cemetery . The medal . His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Queen ' s Royal Lancers Regimental Museum " ( Belvoir Castle , Lincolnshire , England ) " .