Edward Jennings : Short Biography

Edward Jenning was born in 1820 in Ballinrobe, County Mayo. 

As a young man, Jennings enlisted in the British military forces. 

When Jennings was 37 years old, he was stationed as a Rough Rider with the Bengal Artillery during the Indian Mutiny. He took part in the Relief of Lucknow, wherein whilst carrying a message through the city, he heard a European voice crying for help. Jennings jumped his horse over a wall onto a narrow street where he encountered a British lieutenant being attacked with swords by a group of the opposition who had him backed against a wall. Jennings chased off these men on horseback, then returned for the wounded man whom he put on his horse and carried to the medical tent. He was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross for his bravery, as well as a 1,00 rupee reward from the grateful lieutenant. 

Upon his retirement from military duties, Jennings relocated to north east England where he found work as a road sweeper. He fell into financial difficulty, and when he died on the 10th of May 1889, was buried in a pauper's grave.