This website has been made by Peter Mitchell of Christchurch, New Zealand, a great grandson of Samuel Mitchell. It is intended to bring together information about Samuel’s life to act as a reference source for his descendants and for persons interested in the lives of those who won the Victoria Cross.
I have attempted to set out the the life that Samuel lived as a seaman, goldminer and farmer. The information provided here about Samuel’s life has been derived primarily from official documents such as his Royal Navy certificate of service, reference texts, newspaper clippings at the time that events occurred and family correspondence. Where there is no such documentation, and in particular relating to his return to New Zealand as a goldminer, then I have made certain assumptions as to what may have occurred but identified those in the text. For readers using the metric system I have included metric conversions of measurements in [ ] brackets
I would like to thank Mike Phillips for his assistance in providing naval information and explaining many nautical matters referred to in the Royal Navy Service section.
Samuel Mitchell VC 