Victoria Cross awarded to William Nathan Wright Hewett. Hewett (1834–1888) was awarded the Victoria Cross for services during the Crimean War. In 1854, he was serving as Acting Mate on HMS ‘Beagle’ but was commanding a Naval Brigade that was manning a battery at Sebastopol. With a Lancaster gun Hewett fought off the Russians who were advancing towards the battery until the Russians retreated. He had received an order from his commanding officer to fall back but apparently shouted: 'Retire? Retire and be damned! Fire!' It was for this exploit and for further bravery during the battle of Inkerman, that he received the Victoria Cross. Hewett entered the Navy in 1847 as a First Class Volunteer and rose to the rank of Vice Admiral in 1884. He retired from the Navy in 1888 and died the same year. He is buried in Highland Road Cemetery, Portsmouth.

The medal comprises a bronze Maltese Cross fitted with a loop, ring and a blue ribbon suspended from a bar of ornamental laurel leaves by a V. In the centre of the obverse face is a Royal Crown surmounted by a lion, crowned passant, guardant, both within a ribbon, together with the inscription, ‘FOR VALOUR’. The reverse is inscribed, ‘LIEUTENANT WM. NATHAN WRIGHT HEWETT’, along with the date, ‘26 OCT 5 NOV 1854’.