V.C. London Gazette 25.2.1862 'For great gallantry at the capture by storm of the fortress of Gwalior on 20 June 1858. He and Lieutenant Rose, who was killed, were the only Europeans present, and with a mere handful of men, they attacked the fortress, climbed on the roof of a house, shot the Gunner opposed to them, carried all before them, and took the fort, killing every man in it'.

Colonel Wiliam Francis Frederick Waller, V.C., was born on 20.8.1839 and was commissioned one of six Ensigns in the 25th Bombay Native Infantry on 2.2.1857. Following valuable service with the Malwa Field Force in keeping open communications with Central India and protecting the frontier of the Bombay Presidency from June to December 1857, the 25th B.N.I. was detailed to the 1st Brigade of Sir Hugh Rose's Central India Field Force which from February to the end of May swept the country from Mhow to Calpee on the Jumna, and, in so doing, fought the most protracted campaign of all British forces engaged in the suppression of the Mutiny.

Ensign Waller was accordingly present at the siege and storming of the strongly held fortress of Chanderi on 17.3.1858; the siege of Jhansi from 22 March; the defeat of the rebel reinforcements under Tantia Topi on the Betwa River on 31 March; and the capture of Jhansi on 6.4.1858. The rebel leaders, Tantia Topi, the Rani of Jhansi, and Rao Sahib, having suffered so many defeats at the hands of the C.I.F.F. then conceived a bold plan to rekindle the flame of rebellion. They marched with 11,000 men and 12 guns on Gwalior, the seat of Maharajah Scindia in the hope that his army might defect to their cause. The Maharajah opposed them near Morar but after firing only one round his guns were captured and his men deserted to the enemy. When news of the fall of Gwalior became known to Rose, British Columns were ordered to close in from all sides. The successful actions of the Marar Cantonment and Kotah-ki-Serai ensued and by sunset on the 19.6.1858 Rose had succeeded in regaining 'all Gwalior with the exception of the formidable fortress'.

'On the morning of 20th June two British Officers of the 25th Bombay Light Infantry, with a party of Sepoys from that regiment, performed a deed of great gallantry and daring, in which one of them won the Victoria Cross and the other lost his life. Lieutenant Rose, a relation of Sir Hugh's, being the son of Rose of Kilvarock, was in command of a detachment of his regiment not far from the main gateway into the fort. Hearing sounds of laughter and revelry inside, Rose proposed to a brother Officer, Lieutenant Waller, who was commanding a piquet close by that they should have a go at entering the fortress on their own. If the risks were great the honour would be still greater if they brought it off. Waller cheerfully agreed and the two Officers set off with their men and a blacksmith, who willingly gave his services. They were joined by the Adjutant, Captain Plomer, who had happened to be visiting the piquet at the time; and one must give credit to Captain Plomer that he didn't throw any spanners into the works and say that they were acting without orders; he just said, "Fine, go to it".'

'The two Subalterns and their gallant Sepoys crept up to the gate and the blacksmith, a powerful man armed with the tools of his trade, forced it open; he then did the same with the other seven gates into the fortress. By the time the sixth gate had been forced the alarm had been given. When the attackers had reached the archway beyond the last gate they were met with the fire of a field gun. Dashing onwards, unscathed by the fire, they became engaged in a hand-to-hand contest with some of the garrison in which a small party of the rebels fought with the utmost determination. A desperate fight took place; but Rose and Waller and their men carried all before them. In the hour of victory however Rose was mortally wounded. The man who shot him, a mutineer from Bareilly, then rushed out and cut him across the knee and wrist with a sword. Waller came up and killed the rebel but too late to save the life of his friend. By this time reinforcements were hurrying forward and the great fortress had fallen - through the gallantry and initiative of two young British Officers. Waller was awarded the V.C. and Rose would have been too had he lived: but posthumous awards of that high decoration had not then been authorised. Sir Hugh Rose and his Brigade Commander, Brigadier C.S. Stuart, however, both paid warm tributes to the gallantry of Lieutenant Rose'.

Waller, who became Lieutenant on 4.6.1858, received his Cross in India from the hands of General Sir William Mansfield. In line with post- Mutiny reorganization of the military forces he was appointed to the Bombay Staff Corps and ultimately attained the rank of Colonel prior to his death aged, 45 years, at Bath on 29.1.1885. Colonel Waller, V.C., is buried in Locksbrook Cemetery, Avon.

Reference source: The Rebellious Rani, Brigadier The Right Hon. Sir John Smyth, Bt., V.C., M.C., 1966.