William George Nicholas Manley
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William George Nicholas Manley VC, CB (17 December 1831- 16 November 1901) was born in Dublin and was an Irish 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.
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He was 32 years old, and an assistant surgeon in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, British Army during the Waikato-Hauhau Maori War, New Zealand when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 29 April 1864 near Tauranga, New Zealand, during the assault on the rebel pā, Assistant Surgeon Manley risked his own life in an endeavour to save that of a naval officer and others. Having volunteered to accompany the storming party into the pā, he attended the naval officer when he was carried away mortally wounded and then volunteered to return in order to see if he could find any more wounded. He was one of the last officers to leave the pā.
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He later achieved the rank of surgeon general. He died in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 16 November 1901.
It was reported in the Daily Mail of 24 January 2006, that Manley was awarded the German Iron Cross for tending the wounded during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. He is the only recipient of both the VC and the Iron Cross. He also earned himself 18 medals, including the most prestigious medals of France and Afghanistan.
After having been awarded a set of high ranking medals unmatched in history, he was offered a knighthood by Queen Victoria, who had awarded him the Victoria Cross for bravery. However he did not accept this title as he did not believe that he could afford the lifestyle of a knight and therefore politely refused.
His medals are on display in the medals gallery of Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich, south east London.
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- The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
- The Irish Sword, Brian Clarke, 1986
- Irelands VCs, Dept of Economic Development 1995, ISBN 1-899243-00-3
- Monuments to Courage, David Harvey, 1999
- Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross, Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000
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- Location of grave and VC medal (Gloucestershire)
- Surgeon-General W.G.N. Manley
