Replica Victoria Cross awarded to Private John Connors VC, 3rd (The East Kent) Regiment of Foot (The Buffs)

John Connors, who is erroneously referred to as Joseph Connors in some sources, was born in County Kerry, Ireland and enlisted on 8 January 1849, when he was described as a labourer. He earned the Victoria Cross (VC) for 'conspicuous courage and devotion during the assault on the Redan' on 8 September 1855. According to the citation, published in 'The London Gazette' of 24 February 1857, Private Connors 'got inside the Redan at great personal risk, and seeing an officer of the 30th Regiment surrounded by the enemy, he rushed to his assistance. He immediately shot one of the Russians, ran his bayonet through another, and then for some time carried on a hand-to-hand encounter against great odds until support came.'

Before he could receive his VC, Connors tragically died. It is believed he fell to his death from the battlements of Port Neuf, on the island of Corfu, where the Buffs were then garrisoned, on 29 January 1857. Connors is buried on the island. The whereabouts of his original VC is not known and it is possible that his widow, then living in County Galway, never received it.