Mystery of the Victoria Cross buried in mud on the banks of the Thames: Medal worth £50,000 was awarded to an unknown Crimean War hero 

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One of the earliest Victoria Cross medals ever awarded has been recovered from the mud on the banks of the River Thames

One of the earliest Victoria Cross gallantry medals ever awarded has been recovered from the mud on the banks of the River Thames.

The medal, awarded to a hero of the Crimean War and worth at least £50,000 despite being badly weathered, was found by a treasure-hunter ‘mudlarking’ on the foreshore with a metal detector.

Tobias Neto, 54, has refused to disclose exactly where he discovered the award because he still hopes to unearth the medal’s missing ‘suspender bar’ and ribbon, which experts say could double the value of the find.

Mr Neto, from Putney, South-West London, said the medal was buried in 3in of mud. ‘I was detecting in my usual area in December last year when I came across what looked like a large brooch.

‘Only when I got home did I realise I had a Victoria Cross on my hands, when I read the writing “For Valour” below the crown.

‘Then I noticed the date on the reverse: November 5, 1854. I could be the only person in the world who has found a VC.’

Mr Neto’s medal was one of 16 Victoria Crosses awarded to British troops after a major battle on that date during the Crimean War.

A painting of Private John McDermond at the battle of Inkerman on 5th November 1854

But who won the medal and how it ended up in the River Thames remain a mystery.

Of those awarded for actions during the Battle of Inkerman, two are unaccounted for – those won by Private John Byrne of the 68th Durham Light Infantry, and Private John McDermond of the 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot.

John McDermond VC photographed in 1858 after his promotion to Corporal.

The 14 others are in private collections or museums.

Pte Byrne, from Co Kilkenny, Ireland, and Pte McDermond, from Glasgow, were part of a force of 13,000 British, French and Ottoman Empire soldiers who defeated 68,000 Russians. The date of the battle was engraved on the reverse of the medal. 

But the recipient’s name was engraved on the suspender bar, which is missing.

Pte Byrne won his VC for running across the battlefield to find a wounded colleague whom he carried to safety under heavy gunfire. 

Pte McDermond saved the life of a senior officer who was badly wounded and surrounded by enemy troops.

Both men survived and fought in other campaigns – Pte Byrne won a Distinguished Conduct Medal for fighting Maoris during the Tauranga campaign in New Zealand in 1864, while Pte McDermond won the French Military Medal.

Last night, medal expert John Millensted said the missing pieces would increase the value to £100,000.