The jong, or fort, at Gyantse is perched high up on a hill, the approach being rendered difficult for an enemy by the bare and almost precipitous nature of the rock-face. There is scarcely any cover available, and an attacking party is exposed to the fire from the curtain and the flanking towers on both sides. All day the artillery had been thundering at the walls with little success, but at last a small breach was made in the curtain, and it became possible for a storming party to force its way through. It became possible, I say, but the task was a truly hazardous one. So little room was there that only one man could go up at a time, crawling on his hands and knees to the hole in the curtain.
Lieutenant Grant, however, with his brave little Ghurkas, was not to be daunted by such heavy odds. Leaving the cover of the village at the foot of the hill, he led the advance up the steep slope. Immediately behind him came Havildar Karbir Pun, as eager to come to close quarters with the enemy as was his leader. Up the slippery face of the cliff they scrambled, while a shower of rocks and stones poured down on them from the Tibetans above, to say nothing of occasional volleys of jingal bullets; and as they neared the top the lieutenant fell back wounded. Nor did the havildar escape, being hurled back down the rock for thirty feet or more.
Despite their injuries the intrepid couple made another attempt after a brief pause. Covered by the fire of their men, they dashed for the breach, and this time succeeded in their purpose. Grant was the first through, with the faithful Karbir Pun at his heels, their rifles clearing a path for them as they scrambled inside the jong. Then the rest of the Ghurkas quickly poured in, and the issue of the assault was no longer in doubt.
Lieutenant Grant was gazetted in January of the year following. Havildar Karbir Pun—the sepoys of our Indian army not being eligible for the V.C.—received the Indian Order of Merit, which is its equivalent, being conferred for conspicuous bravery in the field.
And so this record of the Victoria Cross and its heroes comes to a close. It is a brave record, indeed, from Lucas down to Grant, and we may well be proud of the gallant fellows, soldiers and sailors, British and Colonials, whose names figure therein. Of late years there has been some complaint that the decoration is in danger of being cheapened by a too liberal distribution, but I cannot think that such is the case. The right to wear the coveted Cross is most jealously guarded; only for acts of conspicuous bravery is it granted; and he would be a bold man who dared to place his finger on any one of the 522 names in the list and say, “That man was not worthy.” How jealously the recipients guard the honour of the decoration for their part is shown by the fact that Rule 15 of the original Warrant has never had to be enforced. No wearer of the V.C. has been struck off the roll for “treason, cowardice, felony, or any infamous crime.” And if at times we read of a Victoria Cross being sold (almost invariably for a large amount) to some collector, we may be sure that another V.C. hero has joined the great majority. The instances in which a recipient of the Cross has parted with his decoration in his lifetime are very rare, and this despite the most tempting offers for the same that are known to have been made. For no medal that can be won by the officers and men of either Service is so highly prized when gained as the little bronze Maltese cross bearing the golden words, “For Valour.”