Michael Murphy ( VC ) Michael Murphy VC ( c . 1837 , Cahir , County Tipperary , Ireland – 4 April 1893 , Darlington , County Durham , England ) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross ( VC ) , the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Murphy was born circa 1837 in Cahir , Tipperary to Michael Murphy , a local blacksmith , and his ( unknown ) wife . He had at least one sibling , a younger sister named Mary . Little is known about his early life until 1855 , when he started his army career . Army career . Early career . On 27 August 1855 , Murphy enlisted in the 17th Lancers at Cork . The 17th Lancers , however , were still at the Crimean War , having lost most of their complement in the Charge of the Light Brigade in the previous year . As a result , Murphy started his training with the 16th Lancers at the Portobello Barracks , Dublin . On 22 May 1856 , Murphy attached to the 17th Lancers , who were now en route from the Crimea , via Ismid in Turkey , to help contain the early stages of the Indian Mutiny . It seems he intended to catch up with his regiment in India . Something must have affected this plan , since on 18 October 1856 , he joined the 2nd Battalion Military Train ( later the Royal Army Service Corps and nowadays the Royal Logistic Corps ) instead . In March 1857 , Murphy left the Curragh Camp and boarded the steamer " Calypso " at Dublin bound for Woolwich . On 28 April , he embarked for Hong Kong . On reaching Indonesia , the battalion was diverted to Calcutta on news of the Indian Mutiny . They arrived in Calcutta on 27 August , and after a series of moves were deployed to relieve Lucknow . The battalion was subsumed into the Azimghur Field Force on 29 March 1858 . Victoria Cross . On 15 April 1858 , Murphy was in position at Nathupur , near Azimgurh , in north - east India . During the fighting , Murphy and Private Samuel Morley were severely wounded while defending an injured comrade , Lieutenant Hamilton , adjutant of the 3rd Sikh Cavalry . Hamilton died from his injuries the next evening , but for his actions Murphy was awarded the Victoria Cross : Queen Victoria presented Michael Murphy with his Victoria Cross at the Quadrangle , Windsor Castle on 4 January 1860 . Recognition for Morley did not come until later . Return to the UK . After his injuries at Nathupur , Murphy was invalided to Calcutta and returned to the United Kingdom and the Invalid Depot , Great Yarmouth . On 14 May 1859 , he resumed his duties at the Depot , at Aldershot and returned to the 2nd Battalion on 1 October 1859 . On 7 April 1860 , he married at Aldershot and his new wife and two children joined him in establishment accommodation the same day . Murphy was soon promoted to Farrier Sergeant , and moved to Woolwich . In January 1862 , Murphy was attached to the 1st Battalion and served 5 months in Canada , returning on 14 June 1862 to Woolwich and then onto Aldershot . On 21 March 1865 , Murphy transferred to the 6th Battalion and moved to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst . On 6 September of the following year , Murphy rejoined the Military Train at the Curragh in Ireland . By 1868 , he was back at Woolwich with his wife and two children . By the time the Military Train became the Army Service Corps in 1869 , Murphy had achieved the rank of Farrier - Major and was stationed in Aldershot . On 1 July 1871 , Murphy transferred from the Army Service Corps to the 7th Hussars . Forfeiture . On 26 January 1872 , a civilian , James Green , was stopped by Farrier - Major Knott at Aldershot with a wagon containing sacks of oats and hay . Green stated that Murphy had given him permission to remove these goods . Murphy and Green were then arrested for the theft of these goods . At the trial at Winchester , Green was acquitted and released , but Murphy was convicted and sentenced to nine months ' hard labour at the House of Correction for the county of Hampshire . On 5 March , an order was issued for the forfeit of Murphy ' s VC . Murphy was one of only their Victoria Crosses . Although Murphy had worn his Victoria Cross every day during his trial , the medal could not be found after the forfeiture order . His wife Mary and their child had disappeared from their Army establishment accommodation . After Murphy was released from prison on 30 November 1872 , he returned to his regiment at Hounslow . His wife and children returned to Army establishment in December 1873 . His medal re - appeared 26 years later . Later career and discharge . During 1873 , Murphy ' s battalion moved to Wimbledon and then Maidstone . Murphy was in hospital and did not move with his battalion when it moved to Norwich in June 1874 . On 7 December 1874 , Murphy was transferred to the 9th Lancers . In January 1875 , the 9th Lancers were sent to Bombay , but Murphy reattached to the 5th Lancers returning from India . On 1 February 1875 , after almost 20 years army service , Murphy was discharged at Colchester . Post - military life and death . Immediately following his army discharge , Murphy took up residence in Bellingham , Northumberland . From Bellingham , he moved by early 1876 to become a blacksmith at Scotswood , Newcastle upon Tyne , Northumberland . then by mid - 1878 to Murton , County Durham , and , by 1881 , back to Heworth , Northumberland . During the 1880s , Murphy ' s children appear to have left home . In 1889 , while staying at Wilton Lodge , Darlington , Murphy ' s wife was admitted to Winterton Asylum , Sedgefield , where she later died on 3 March 1900 . By 1891 , Murphy had moved on his own to a cottage on the Blackwell Grange estate , outside Darlington ( owned by a benefactor , Sir Henry Havelock - Allan , another Victoria Cross recipient ) . Murphy later relocated to Darlington to work as a labourer in an Ironworks . Murphy died of pneumonia at 22 Vulcan Street , Darlington on 4 April 1893 . He was buried in the North Road Municipal Cemetery , Darlington . A gravestone was erected by Sir Henry and comrades from the India campaign . Despite having at least two children still alive but not at home , his sole heir was stated to be Bridget Mary Anne Dobson , a married niece who was caring for , and residing with , him at the end . Murphy ' s epitaph records that three of his sons were killed in action . Reappearance of medal . It is not known where the medal was kept between March 1872 and June 1898 , nor who held possession . However , five years after Murphy ' s death , in June 1898 , his Victoria Cross medal eventually resurfaced when it was offered by an anonymous seller at auction . It was bought by Master Sergeant Masterman on behalf of the Royal Army Service Corps , at Aldershot . This medal was presented to the RASC , which has since been subsumed into the Royal Logistic Corps , based at the Princess Royal Barracks , Deepcut , Surrey . Murphy ' s actual medal is now owned by a regimental trust and can be viewed , but only by prior arrangement with the Royal Logistic Corps Museum . Commemoration . The 150th anniversary of Murphy ' s VC occurred on 15 April 2008 , and was commemorated at his grave in Darlington by the RLC , with the Mayor of Darlington , numerous family members and the British Legion present . Family . Murphy married Mary Fox ( b . cir 1841 Ireland – d . 9 Mar 1900 ) at the Farnham Register Office , nr Aldershot , on 7 April 1860 . One or both of them may have had previous children , or may have been caring for family or army children , since the army records state that they went onto army establishment the very same day with two children or stepchildren , aged 1 yrs and 5 yrs . Subsequently , they had at least three children together : These three children — and no others — appear in the civilian records ( BMD , census , etc . ) . Despite this , Murphy ' s epitaph stated that " Three of his sons died or were killed in Her Majesty ' s service " before 1893 . It is known that his son George died in 1954 , and that Mary Ann and her family survived into the 20th century , so his son Edward John Murphy and two further stepsons must have died before 1893 . The army records suggest that these deaths may have been : The exact identity and fate of all his children are not known ; nor is the connection to his niece Bridget Dobson . References and notes . Bibliography . Listed in order of publication year