Alfred Ablett was 25 years old, and a Private in the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards when the act of bravery, for which he was awarded the VC, took place.

His citation reads:

On 2 September 1855 during the siege of Sebastopol, Crimea, a burning shell fell into a trench containing two cases of ammunition. Private Ablett at once realising the danger to which all were exposed, seized the shell in his hands and threw it over the parapet, where it immediately exploded as it touched the ground, but not a man was touched.

He later achieved the rank of Sergeant.

St. Andrew's Church, Weybread

Albett was born in Weybread on 3 April 1830 and died on 12 March 1897 in Poplar, East London. He is buried in an unmarked grave in St Andrew's Churchyard, Weybread which is just to the south of the Norfolk town of Harleston.

On the wall of the north aisle there is a memorial plaque, and explanatory notice, for Ablett was Suffolk's first winner of the Victoria Cross. The plaque on the wall in the church dates from 1997, the centenary of his death.

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Grenadier Guards Regimental Headquarters, Wellington Barracks, London, England.