Frederick Whirlpool’s Victoria Cross is displayed near the entrance to the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. It was the first VC pinned to an Australian uniform, yet almost nothing was known about its enigmatic recipient. Two acts of valor during the Indian Mutiny won him the Victoria Cross, but 17 severe sword wounds ended his career.

After migrating to Australia in 1859, he became a volunteer rifleman and school teacher. His VC was presented in Melbourne in 1861. He applied to join the Victorian Police, but corruption and unsolicited political interference prevented it. Repulsed by fame, he fled and hid his cross from the world. Fragments of his story were known, but since 1895, they have been tainted by error and guesswork. This new book reveals his true identity and early life in Ireland, before he joined the East India Company Army and sailed to India.

Frederick Whirlpool VC is the fascinating history of an ordinary man, whose life is deserving of factual interpretation. It is a story of heroism, suffering and failure, but this forgotten man will triumph in its telling: the true story of this sad and purposefully enigmatic hero.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Evening Shadows
• Chapter Two: Carlow & Dundalk
• Chapter Three: England and the 3rd Bombay European Regiment
• Chapter Four: India
• Chapter Five: Mutiny
• Chapter Six: The Response
• Chapter Seven: Jhansi
• Chapter Eight: Lohari
• Chapter Nine: Victoria
• Chapter Ten: New South Wales
• Chapter Eleven: Teaching, Lower Macdonald River & Wiseman’s Ferry
• Chapter Twelve: Pitt Town, Grono Park School And Beyond
• Chapter Thirteen: Rest
• Epilogue
• Endnotes
• Bibliography
• Annexure A
• Annexure B
• Annexure C
• Acknowledgements
• Glossary
• About The Author