Frederick Corbett

The Maldon District’s only Victoria Cross recipient forfeited his medal, died in the workhouse and was buried in an unmarked grave – but his bravery is still honoured in the town.

If you visit Maldon Cemetery, among the many war graves you will find one commemorating Private Frederick Corbett VC – the district’s only recipient of the country’s highest medal for honour, awarded only for “most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy”.

Yet this official headstone remembering his bravery was only put up in 2004 - the war hero had died in Maldon Union Workhouse in 1912 and been buried in an unmarked grave after being one of just eight of 1,358 Victoria Cross recipients to have their medal taken away from them.

His strange story began in 1853 when he was born and given the name David Embleton. He joined the British Army in 1873, serving in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, but for some unknown reason registered under the name Frederick Corbett. He initially served in Britain, but in 1879 he went with the Battalion to South Africa where he fought in the First Boer War.

In 1882 he was sent to Egypt, where a revolution was taking place, to protect the Suez Canal. During a reconnaissance mission, a small group of riflemen came under heavy fire from Egyptian forces, and Lieutenant Howard Vyse was seriously wounded. While his companions took cover, Corbett stayed in the open, totally exposed, trying to protect the dying lieutenant and stop his bleeding, before helping to carry him from the battlefield. His bravery was recognised with the presentation of the Victoria Cross in Cairo in March 1883.

History doesn’t record whether he suffered physical injury or, more likely, mental trauma from the incident, but he was discharged from the Army as medically unfit in June 1883. Facing financial ruin, Corbett, who was then believed to be struggling with alcohol, sold his medals a year afterwards and re-enlisted in the Royal Horse Artillery. A string of problems followed, and before he was discharged on medical grounds again in 1891, he had been court-marshalled for going absent without leave, theft and striking an officer, which resulted in his name being removed from the VC register and his VC pension being cancelled. He ended his days in the workhouse, dying in 1912 aged 59.

When George V came to the throne, he declared that no longer would anyone forfeit a Victoria Cross, no matter what they did in later life, stating in 1920: “Even were a VC to be hanged for murder, he should be allowed to wear the Cross on the scaffold." In 2004 a military ceremony at the cemetery in London Road, Maldon, unveiled the headstone recognising Frederick Corbett's bravery and a bugler from the Royal Green Jackets sounded the Last Post.

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Maldon Cemetery & Commonwealth War Graves

Maldon Cemetery dates back to 1855 and the older parts of the cemetery are both havens for wildlife and fascinating places to visit. The cemetery is home to 21 Commonwealth War Graves.
1. 1 Jan 000131 Dec 9999
2. 1 Jan 000131 Dec 9999
The Blue Boar

One of the architectural gems of Maldon, part of this quaint pub and hotel date back to the 14th century. The oldest part of the complex is the timber framed range immediately to the left as you pass through the coaching archway from Silver Street, this dates back to the second half of the 14th century. In the 1750’s the Blue Boar was a stopping off point for the Maldon Stage ‘fly’ a coach which ran between Southminster and Aldgate, London and by the turn of the century was one of the principal coaching inns in the town. Today, the inn has gained further reputation as an ale house with usually 5 fresh ales on tap brewed on site at the Stable Brewery
Former Maldon Union Workhouse

Today, St Peter's Hospital in Spital Road is a valuable NHS centre, but the grand buildings have an interesting history. Built in 1872 to replace the smaller workhouse on Market Hill, the new Union Workhouse could hold up to 450 inmates and had its own chapel, mortuary and kitchen.

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Braxted Bakery Miniature Railway

Address

Homefield House, Witham Road, Little Braxted, Essex, CM8 3ET

Telephone
07740117688

thebraxtedbakery@hotmail.co.uk

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Hillside, Market Hill, Maldon, CM9 4QL

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As you walk up or down Market Hill, among the many historic buildings is a collection of Listed townhouses opposite the Market Hill Garden, just below Cromwell Lane. Now elegant, private homes, these buildings were once a single institution,…
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Little Braxted Lane, Little Braxted, Essex, CM8 3EU

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Address

Abbey Turning, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6LL

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0345 603 7624

Maldon

By appointment. Beeleigh mill was a large flour mill on the river Chelmer near Maldon, Essex. It had two water wheels driving 10 stones (later 12), to which was added a separate building which housed a steam-powered beam engine driving five…
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High Street, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8AA

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Station House, Station Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 4LQ

Maldon

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Maldon Methodist Church

Address

135A High Street, Maldon, Essex, CM9 5BS

Telephone
01621 853423

mwbarrya@mweb.co.za

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Woodham Mortimer Hall, Maldon Road, Woodham Mortimer, CM9 6SN

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Maldon War Memorial

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Outside All Saints Church, High Street, Maldon, CM9 5PF

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Great & Little Braxted & Wickham Bishops War Memorial

Address

Junction of Beacon Hill and Kelvedon Road, Wickham Bishops, CM8 3HW

Wickham Bishops

Great Braxted, Little Braxted and Wickham Bishops war memorial is a Grade II listed stone memorial with a tall, hexagonal pillar topped with an orb and cross, standing on a three-step hexagonal plinth. The memorial was given to the area by Mr and…
Othona Community

Address

East Hall Farm, East End Road, Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex, CM0 7PN

Telephone
01621 776564

bradwell@othona.org

Bradwell-on-Sea

Othona is an open and inclusive Community rooted in the Christian tradition and drawing on a wealth of other inspirations.
St Mary's Church, Mundon

Address

Vicarage Lane, Mundon, Essex, CM9 6PA

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The church of St. Mary in Mundon is cared for by the Friends of Friendless Churches and it is now conserved as a Grade 1 listed medieval church. After a major programme of restoration and repair it is once again open to the public daily.
St Mary the Virgin

Address

Church Road, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8QB

Telephone
01621 786066

stmaryschurchburnham@outlook.com

Burnham-on-Crouch

Affectionately known as St Mary's, there has been a church on this site since 1155, possibly even earlier, and as such the fabric of the building reflects a long and eventful history.
The Moot Hall

Address

High Street, Maldon, Essex, CM9 5PF

Telephone
01621 851553

manager@themoothall.co.uk

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This 15th Century former manorial home houses a unique brick spiral staircase, a Georgian court room, a former prison and a Victorian Council Chamber.
Tolleshunt D'Arcy Maypole

Address

Opposite 17 North Street, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, CM9 8TF

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In the middle of the road junction in Tolleshunt D'Arcy stands the village maypole, one of the few remaining original maypoles to be found. The bottom has been protected by a wooden cage.
All Saints' Church, Creeksea

Address

Ferry Road, Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, CM0 8PQ

Telephone
01621 783963

vera.wadman@allsaintscreeksea.org.uk

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All Saints' Church at Creeksea lies in an idyllic setting with beautiful views over the River Crouch. The current church building dates from the 1870s although there has been a church on this site since the 13th century.
St Mary's Chapel

Address

Braxted Road, Little Braxted, CM8 3LD

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The great church artist Ernest Geldart was Rector of Little Braxted from 1883 to 1900, and he built this little chapel beside his Rectory in 1885 during a time when he was incapacitated after breaking a leg.
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Address

Northey Cottage, Northey Island, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6PP

northeyisland@nationaltrust.org.uk

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RAF Bradwell Bay

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Buoys of Burnham-on-Crouch

Address

Various locations:, Burnham Yacht Harbour in Foundry Lane, Belvedere Road and Coronation Road, Burnham-on-Crouch, CM0 8BL

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If you walk around Burnham-on-Crouch look out for the three large buoys that now decorate the street scene. These historic buoys were once out in the water of the Crouch estuary, helping to guide ships safetly home, but when they were replaced at…

The Maldon District’s only Victoria Cross recipient forfeited his medal, died in the workhouse and was buried in an unmarked grave – but his bravery is still honoured in the town.

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