THE STORY OF SERGEANT
WILLIAM COFFEY VC DCM

by
Simon Gaine

1: ‘A proud, gratifying day’

2: ‘William Coffey would be astonished…’

3: Questionable ‘facts’ about William Coffey

4: William Coffey’s early life

5: Coffey enlists in the army

6: Life in the army

7: The Coffey brothers Crimea bound

8: In the trenches: Coffey’s act of valour

9: ‘Distinguished conduct in the field’

10: Coffey meets the Queen

11: Feasting in Edinburgh

12: Coffey’s greatest honour

13: To the East Indies

14: The Battle of Lucknow and the end of the Mutiny

15: Coffey’s civilian experiment

16: Remaining in India

17: ‘Unfit for further service’

18: Coffey's last years

19: The rise of the suicide story

20: The spread of the suicide story

21: So who was William Coffey?

Acknowledgements and links

WO 97/1629

The text of this website is © Copyright Simon Gaine 2005 and may not be reproduced without permission