Item NU 42203 Medal - Victoria Cross, Great Britain, 1868

Summary

Victoria Cross military medal awarded to Drummer Michael Magner, no. 3691, 33rd regiment, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, for his actions on 13 April 1868, during the Abyssinian Campaign (in what is now Ethiopia).

Lieutenant General Lord Napier reported that while the head of the column of attack was checked by the obstacles at a gate into Magdala, a small line of officers and men of the 33rd Regiment and an officer of Engineers broke away from the main approach to Magdala. They climbed up a cliff, reached the defences and forced their way over the wall, and through a strong and thorny fence, therein turning the defenders of the gateway. The first two men to enter were Drummer Michael Magner and Private James Bergin, no. 949, of the 33rd Regiment. They were both awarded Victoria Crosses (London Gazette, 28 July 1868).

Michael Magner (also known as Magner-Barry or Michael Barry) migrated with his wife and children to Tasmania in 1884. His arrival was reported by the Mercury newspaper in Hobart, which described him as a 'distinguished emigrant', working as a road labourer, who had arrived on the S.S. Pathan with his wife and two (or three) children on 28 August 1884. The newspaper believed it was the first Victoria Cross in the colony. Unfortunately, by November Magner reported his VC had been lost; it is not clear if and when he was reunited with it.

Magner moved to Launceston, likely for work. In December 1884 it was reported that he had been made a constable in the Waterworks Department (the newspaper called him Wagner in error), and by January 1885 had joined the Launceston Volunter Rifle Regiment as a corporal. He seems to have found it diffiicult keeping a steady income, however. In May 1885 the Benevolent Society granted him 'a ration and a half for one month'. In September he pleaded guilty to failing to send a child to school, and in December he was fined for this failure. Michael Magner was in the Launceston papers again in 1887, when he was 'drunk and incapable'. It was later noted that 'Magner is well known in Launceston, and for years past has been a kind of pensioner on account of his being an old soldier.' (Launceston Examiner 1 October 1894, p. 5)

Yet Magner also came to public attention for positive reasons. On Boxing Day in 1887 he was playing in a military band on board the S.S. Mangana, at George Town, north of Launceston, when several people tried to board a nearby vessel from a dinghy but fell into the water. Magner dived in, still wearing his uniform, and held a baby out of the water until it could be lifted to safety. 'A subscription was got up on board the S.S. Mangana in recognition of the magnanimous conduct of Magner and his fellow excursionist'. (Launceston Examiner, 27 Dec, 1887, p. 2)

In 1893 Magner and his family moved to Victoria, where life did not get easier. In June 1894 a correspondent to The Age reported that he 'was a few days ago actually starving, with a wife and family similarly situated, because, though willing to work, no work could he find.' The correspondant added that Magner now had seven children (other accounts suggest six). His small pension, however, enabled him to establish a small business at 115 St Georges' Road, North Fitzroy. But Magner was very unwell, and died of tuberculosis in Fitzroy, Victoria on 6 February 1897, aged 56. He left his wife, Margaret, and eight children (according to a family notice in The Age, 8 February 1897). He was buried in Melbourne General Cemetery. His wife appealed for public assistance to keep the shop going - their oldest child was only 13 years old. Nearly two decades later, three of their sons enlisted to serve in World War I: Walter, Charles Louis and Michael. Both Michael and Walter served at Gallipoli. Walter (service no. 106), was wounded at Gallipoli but survived the war. Michael (service no. 1795) was also wounded there, recovered, and was killed in France on 30 November 1916. Charles' enlistment did not result in service. Their mother Margaret died in October 1916.

The fate of the Victoria Cross in this story is unclear. It was owned by collector George Wannemacher when he died in August 1930 - he bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Victoria. It was transferred to Museums Victoria in 1976.

Physical Description

A bronze cross Pattee with loop to crimson ribbon. The obverse features a crowned lion standing to left with head facing on the Royal Crown; around below on a semi-circular scroll, FOR VALOUR. The reverse has engraved on the suspension bar DRUMMER MICHAEL MAGNER ... and on the circular panel at the centre of the cross APRIL 1868

Obverse Description

Bronze cross Pattee with loop to suspension bar for crimson ribbon. Features a crowned lion standing to left with head facing on the Royal Crown; around below on a semi-circular scroll, 'FOR VALOUR'.

Reverse Description

Engraved on suspension bar 'DRUMMER MICHAEL MAGNER' and on the circular panel at the centre of the cross PRIL 1868.

Edge Description

Plain

Significance

Statement of Significance:
The Victoria Cross was instituted as the premier award for gallantry in January 1856 and made retrospective to the beginning of the Crimean War in 1854. The medals are made from bronze cannons captured from the Russians during the Crimean War.