The First Chicken to win a VC

George Bell Chicken was born in March 1833 in Howden Pans, close to Wallsend in Northumberland. His father, George, was a mariner and George Bell followed in his footsteps. It seems he was a natural, as he was certified Competent as Only Mate shortly before his 18th birthday and by the time he was 20 he'd been certified as a Master.

His travels as mate took him from his native Tyneside to the West Coast of America, Valparaiso, the Baltic and Copenhagen.  As Captain of the Hastings he travelled to Madras and then to Calcutta. In 1855 he transferred to the East India Company, or the Indian Navy - there is some confusion over the details. Quite what he did for the next couple of years is unclear, but he saw in the Indian Mutiny or Rebellion of 1857-8 an opportunity to win a name for himself. He is said to have declared an intention to win a medal.  

The book "The Victoria Cross at Sea" by John Winton, published in 1978 gives this description of his success:

"On 27th September 1858 George Chicken attached himself to a mixed party of the 3rd Sikh Irregular Cavalry and 68 men of Rattray's mounted police, under Lieutenant Charles George Baker of the Bengal Police, on an attack on a force of about 700 mutineers encamped at a village called Suhejnee, near Peroo, in Bengal. Apparently, Chicken had openly announced his determination to win a Victoria Cross and he behaved with conspicuous gallantry during the charge that day. The mutineers were routed and soon in flight, pursued by Chicken and the others."

"Chicken quickly forged ahead, driving his horse recklessly across river nullahs and through sugar canes and thick jungle. When he caught up with a party of about twenty armed mutineers he was quite alone. Chicken at once charged them and killed five with his sword, but was then set upon by the rest, knocked off his horse and badly wounded. He would certainly have been killed had not four native troopers of the 1st Bengal Police and the 3rd Sikh Irregulars galloped up and rescued him. On receiving the despatches of Colonel Turner, in overall command of the cavalry column, Sir Colin Campbell (later Lord Clyde) recommended both Baker and Chicken for the Victoria Cross, and both duly received it."

"George Bell Chicken returned to Calcutta on 30th November 1859, and in March 1860 was given command of H.M. Schooner "Emily" (2 guns), which was subsequently lost at sea with all hands in a violent squall off Sandheads in the Bay of Bengal in May 1860."

Although his award of the VC was announced in the London Gazette on 27th April 1860 it seems that he never received that medal, perhaps because he was already at sea on the 'Emily'.  A medal was posted to his father, George Chicken, in May 1862 which might have been a replacement. At some point after that it passed out of the family's hands and was discovered in Canada in 1987 when it was sold at auction. The original medal was auctioned in 2006 and now forms part of the Ashcroft collection displayed at the Imperial War Museum (https://victoriacrossonline.co.uk/george-bell-chicken-vc/)

The citation in the London Gazette has an error, in that it ascribes to him the wrong parents! An easy mistake to make in an area of the North East that has several Chicken families and many of them have similar Christian names. Thanks to some diligent work from a previous one-name study guru, Geoff Matthews, his correct family tree has been identified.

The award is commemorated on a wall plaque at the Union Jack Club (Combined Services) in London as a Naval award, but was it really, or was it a civilian award?  There are no known photographs of this interesting man, and many questions about the details of his life in the months prior to his award. Did he join the Indian Navy, or just 'tag along'? Was he therefore a civilian at the time? There's little concrete evidence either way, but one thing is for sure - he did win the VC and is, as far as I know, the only Chicken to have done so!


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