THE PRO PATRIA PROJECT
RYAN, John
Lance Corporal, 65th Regiment (York & Lancaster Regiment)

CITATION
Victoria Cross
On 7 September 1863 near Camerontown, New Zealand, Lance-Corporal RYAN, with two privates, removed the body of a captain from the field of action after he had been mortally wounded, and remained with it all night in the bush, surrounded by the enemy.

KNOWN AWARDS
Victoria Cross
New Zealand Wars Medal (1860-66)

His medals are held in the York & Lancs Regimental Museum, Rotherham, England.

NOTES
Born 1839, Borrisoleigh, County Tipperary, Ireland
Drowned at Tuakau, New Zealand, on 29 December 1864, while attempting to rescue a comrade.
He is buried in an unmarked grave at the Alexandra Redoubt Cemetery, Tuakau, New Zealand. A large "stepped," marble and concrete memorial is erected at the site