Page 164 - RSDG Year of 2023

162 EAGLE AND CARBINE
ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH OF JOHN GRIEVE VC
On 1 December 2023 representatives from the Edinburgh branch of the Regimental Association and the Regimental Museum laid a wreath for John Grieve VC at Inveresk Cemetery, Musselburgh to mark the 150th anniversary of his death.
Grieve was a 34 years old sergeant-major in the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) when his actions at the Battle of Balaklava would lead to his award of a VC. His citation in the London Gazette on 24 February 1857 read:
‘Saved the life of an Officer, in the Heavy Cavalry Charge at Balaklava, who was surrounded by Russian Cavalry, by his gallant conduct in riding up to his rescue and cutting off the head of one Russian, disabling and dispersing the others.’
The medal was presented to him by Queen Victoria in Hyde Park in June 1857. A watercolour by George Housman Thomas in the Royal Collection shows Grieve waiting to receive the honour in front of other dignitaries and with a large crowd behind.
Later that year he was given a commission as cornet without purchase and he was appointed adjutant on 18 Feb 1859. He would be promoted to lieutenant in 1863 before retiring two years later.
Queen Victoria Distributing the First Victoria Crosses Seen Close Up, by George Housman Thomas, 1857. John Grieve can be seen in line waiting to receive his medal. (Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023)
He died at Musselburgh on 1 December 1873 and records showed that he was interred with his mother at Inveresk Cemetery but his grave was unmarked. The turf maker where the wreath was laid was donated by Mary Fairburn of Abercorn Memorials and installed at the grave site in 2003.
Lieutenant and Adjutant John Grieve VC, 1863 Kennie Robertson, Edinburgh Branch and Stuart Kennedy, Museum Curator