James John McLeod Innes

Lieutenant-General James John McLeod Innes (5 February 1830 – 13 December 1907) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in British India to Scottish parents, Innes was educated privately, then at Edinburgh University and at Addiscombe Military Seminary, military academy of the East India Company where he was awarded the Pollock Medal. He was commissioned into the Bengal Engineers in 1848 and, after further training, he arrived in India in November 1850. When the Indian Mutiny began in May 1857 he was at Lucknow, where he helped to defend the city throughout its siege. After the evacuation of Lucknow in November 1897, he served in military operations in Oudh State. For his work in the Mutiny, he was also mentioned in dispatches three times and received the brevet rank of major. after which he wrote a number of books, mostly relating to the history of the Indian Mutiny. He died on 13 December 1907 aged 77 at his home in Cambridge.

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