McNEILL, John Carstairs
Lieutenant Colonel. 107th Regiment*. Bengal Infantry.
London Gazetted on 16th August 1864.
Born on 29th March 1831 at Colonsay, Argyllshire, Scotland.
Died on 25th May 1904 at London.
Memorial not known
Digest of Citation reads:
On 30th March 1864, Colonel McNEILL, along with two Privates, Vosper and Gibson of the Colonial Defence Force, were proceeding to Te Amawutu, New Zealand. When returning from there, the officer saw a body of the enemy in front, about a mile from Ohampu. He sent Private Gibson back to bring up the Infantry, whilst he and Private Vosper made their way leisurely to the top of the rise, in order to get a better view of the enemy. About 50 natives, who had been hiding in the bush, suddenly attacked them. Their only chance of escape was to ride as fast as they could, but as they turned to gallop, Private Vosper's horse fell and he was thrown. The natives rushed forward, and noticing that Vosper was no longer behind him, Lieutenant Colonel McNeil returned and caught his horse and helped him to mount. The enemy were extremely close and firing at them, but they managed to escape by galloping away.
* Royal Sussex Regiment.
Additional information: Major General Sir John McNeill was made a Knight Grand Cross of Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). A Knight Commander of the Bath (KCB ) and a a Knight Commander of St Michael and St George. (KCMG). He also held the Knight of Medjidie of Turkey. In 1874 he was appointed Equerry to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.