Royal Marine Colour Sergeant John Prettyjohns

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One of the most highly-decorated Royal Marines of the 19th century, Colour Sgt John Prettyjohns, served his last tour of duty on San Juan Island.

Prettyjohns was born on June 11, 1823, in a small village in southwest England. Finding the life of an agricultural laborer not to his liking, he enlisted for unlimited service in the Royal Marines in 1844. He took the oath on his 21st birthday.

In his two decades of service, Prettyjohns would travel over much of the world, but it was in the Crimean War that he earned his Victoria Cross. That war saw the English, French, and Ottomans allied against Imperial Russia. In 1854 the allies decided to attack Sevastapol, Russia's main naval port on the Black Sea. It was a brutal, year-long assault with heavy losses all around.

Prettyjohns was part of a Royal Marines Battalion sent to relieve hard-pressed British Army units on the eastern heights overlooking Balaklava harbor. They were tasked to clear some caves of Russian army snipers. Prettyjohns and his men managed to rout the Russians but exhausted their ammunition in doing so. The Russians soon figured out that the Royal Marines were out of ammunition and helpless, and began to creep back up the steep hillside. Another Royal Marines Seargent described what happened next:

"Prettyjohns, a muscular West Countryman, said, 'Well lads, we are just in for a warming, and it will be every man for himself in a few minutes. Look alive, my hearties, and collect all the stones handy, and pile them on the ridge in front of you.'"

When the Russians closed in to finish off the marines, Prettyjohns leaped out and grabbed the lead enemy, and "gave him a Westcountry buttock, [and] threw him over upon the men following." Then "a shower of stones from the others knocked the leaders over. Away they went, tumbling one over the other, down the incline." The Russians retreated, though "there was sufficient to have eaten us up."

For this act of bravery and ingenuity, Prettyjohns was the first Royal Marine to be awarded the British's highest award for valor, the Victoria Cross, on Feb 24, 1857.

Prettyjohns later served in China and India, where he was promoted to Sergeant then to Colour Seargent. In January 1858, he boarded the HMS Tribune in India, bound for Victoria, Vancouver Island. Many of the marines deserted upon arrival at Victoria, but Colour Seargent Prettyjohns remained. He served at English Camp on San Juan Island until 1863, a peaceful final post for a man who'd seen so much violence.

Prettyjohns retired from the Royal Marines in 1865. His awards and medals included not only the Victoria Cross but also the British Crimea Medal, the Turkish Crimea and Sardinian Crimea Medals, the China Medal, a Long Service & Good Conduct Medal, and a Long Service and Good Conduct gratuity for gallantry in the Crimea.

Every autumn, the Royal Marines honor Colour Sergent John Prettyjohns with a procession as the first Royal Marine to earn the Victoria Cross.