On 25th September 1857, Joel was part of the assault on the Char Bagh Bridge in Lucknow, when Captain Francis Cornwallis Maude’s guns (also awarded the VC for this action) came under heavy attack from two enemy guns from the other side of the bridge. A number of Maude’s men were killed or wounded, and Captain Frederick Willis can be quoted on what happened next: “At one of our guns, five men were knocked over in as many seconds. I am happy to say, however, that one of my old company (Private Holmes) was first to volunteer as a “number” at the gun in place of the poor fellow who had been killed; and he remained working at it until it limbered up, for which I recommended him for distinguished conduct. With his and others of my regiment, Maude was able to work his guns bravely and steadily.”
