John Perie

John Perie
John Perie VC
Born	1831 Huntly, Aberdeenshire
Died	17 September 1874 (aged 42-43) Aberdeen
Buried	St Peter's Cemetery, Aberdeen
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1848-1860
Rank	Sapper
Unit	Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners
Battles / wars	Crimean War Second Anglo-Chinese War
Awards	Victoria Cross Médaille Militaire (France)

John Perie VC (1831 – 17 September 1874) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Perie was born in Gartly, north-west of Aberdeen on 7 April 1821.^[1]

Perie was approximately 25 years old, and a sapper in the Royal Sappers and Miners, British Army during the Crimean War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 18 June 1855 during the Siege of Sevastopol, Sapper Perie showed conspicuous gallantry, with a lieutenant (Gerald Graham) in leading a ladder party at the assault on the Redan. He also volunteered to go with the lieutenant to help bring in a wounded sailor lying in the open, even though he was himself suffering from a musket wound in the side.^[2]

He died at 69 East North Street^[3] in Aberdeen on 17 September 1874 and was buried in the "Strangers Land" (communal paupers grave) of St Peter's Cemetery in north Aberdeen.^[4]

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham, Kent.

He was married to Isabella Howie (1834-1901) and had four children, most of whom began spelling their name as "Pirie".^[5]

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)
• Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)

• Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
• Location of grave and VC medal (Grampian)