Major-General Sir Christopher Charles Teesdale VC KCMG CB
HERO OF THE MONTH
Christopher Charles Teesdale will forever be recorded in the history books for two specific reasons: he received the only VC for the siege of Kars – the last major action of the Crimean War – and was the first South African-born recipient of the VC.
Given the ferocity of the siege at Kars on 29 September 1855, and the courage that Teesdale – then aged 22 – displayed while at the centre of the fighting, it was quite remarkable he was not killed in action. In fact, he survived the conflict, enjoyed an illustrious service career and lived to see his 60th birthday.
Teesdale was born in Grahamstown, in the Cape Colony of South Africa, on 1 June 1833. He was the third son of Lieutenant- General Henry Teesdale, of the Royal Horse Artillery, who was posted to South Africa, with his wife Rose (née Dobrée), prior to their son’s birth.
Christopher was just two years old when he returned to England with his family. For the rest of his childhood, he was raised in England and Guernsey, where his mother’s family lived. In 1848, Teesdale was accepted as a gentleman cadet into the Royal Artillery and commissioned into the regiment as a second li…
