Article written for Durham Town & Country Autumn Edition as follow up to previous WW1 piece.

French Honour Durham Soldier

Following our piece entitled Heroes of the Great War in the Spring edition, we were contacted by one of our readers, Mrs Kathleen Tennant of Stanley.  She told us the story of her uncle, decorated in World War One by the French for courage on the battlefield.

            Lance Corporal Charles Seymour Reid MM was born and raised as plain old Charlie Reid in the County Durham town of Gateshead.  However, like so many young men of his generation, the onset of war in 1914 was to change him from a working class youngster into a casualty of war.

            On June 28^th 1914 in Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, and his wife, were assassinated by Serb patriots wanting Bosnia and Herzogovina to be ruled by Serbia instead of Austria.  It seemed a minor event at the time, but became the spark that started the greatest conflict in history.  Russia was drawn into the conflict, followed by Germany, France and then Britain.

            Despite predictions that the conflict would be over by Christmas, British War Minister Lord Kitchener foresaw a longer lasting campaign.  His now legendary claim that “Your Country Needs You” saw men across the country volunteering to join the forces.  Charlie Reid and his brothers William, Arthur, Albert and Fred all enlisted. 

Charlie joined the 9^th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry at Gateshead, or the Gateshead Ghurkas as they were later called. 

Before long Private Charles Reid was fighting in Northern France with the DLI, a regiment which was represented at every major battle of the War.  By 1917, Reid was a Lance Corporal and had been awarded the Military Medal for his actions in the Battle of Arras.

By summer of the following year, as the war was slowly being won, the DLI, fighting with the British 62^nd Division was placed under the command of the French 5^th Army fighting at Tardenois on the Marne.   As the fighting intensified, a young officer went down in the field and was stranded.  Several troops made an effort to reach him but were killed in a hail of bullets from the Germans.

Knowing the danger, Reid crawled from his trench and made his way through the mud and bodies to his stricken comrade.  Despite being wounded himself, Reid managed to bring the young officer back to safety.  Reid, however, was not so lucky and on 3^rd August 1918 he died from his wounds.

For his bravery in the face of such ferocious fighting, the French posthumously awarded him the Croix de Guerre medal, one of only four awarded to Gateshead men during the Great War.  The local newspaper said of him, “If there is still a place as Valhalla, Charles Reid went there that day to join the heroes of history”.  Reid was buried with honours at St Sever Cemetery in Rouen, France along with almost 9,000 other young men who fell in the fields of northern France.

            Following the end of conflict, it was decided that a memorial should be erected in Gateshead to commemorate the men of the town killed.  A public meeting in 1920 raised £5,500 and the records show that further cash was raised by donations from 9,232 of the towns folk through door to door collections and from 20,000 children who donated through their schools.

            On 14^th May 1922 the cenotaph at the junction of Durham Road and Prince Consort Road was officially unveiled, and Charles’ mother Ellen Elizabeth Reid was chosen to lay a wreath on behalf of the Mothers of Gateshead.  The event was described in the following days newspaper under the headline “Gateshead’s Sacred Day”.

            It records, “With faltering step and tear dimmed eye a mother of men moved to the foot of Gateshead’s cenotaph, after it had been unveiled and dedicated, yesterday afternoon, and laid upon it a garland of pink carnations.”

            “Mrs Reid, for that was she, bore herself bravely under the gaze of thousands.  She had been selected to figure as the representative of the whole of the mothers of the borough and though her thoughts all the while must have been with her two sons sleeping on the battlefield, she      

performed her task with a dignity befitting the sacrifice she had made.”

The cenotaph is still standing, and inside is a lectern with a book of remembrance listing the men of the borough who died, and is always open.  Above the door are the words “In Memory of the People of Gateshead who made the supreme sacrifice for their country.”  Men like Charlie Reid and his brother, as well as the 13,000 men of the Durham Light Infantry who perished during the Great War.

 

Thanks to Kathleen & Michael Tennant, Ellen Ridley and Robert McNulty, as well as Stuart Phipps of Gateshead Libraries and Steve Shannon of the DLI Museum for their assistance in the writing of this article and use of pictures.

 

 

 

END

Article written for Yorkshire Historical Quarterly magazine published, Spring 2007

Yorkshire Grit

One hundred and fifty years ago, Queen Victoria ruled one of the smallest nations in the world, and at the same time, the greatest empire in the history of the planet.

The British Empire stretched from Australia and New Zealand, through India, Africa, Central and North America and beyond.  It was accurately said that the sun never set on the British Empire.  The soldiers and sailors of Great Britain were feared and respected across the globe for their organisation, bravery, skill and determination.

Following the end of the Crimean War, support was growing for an award to recognise the bravery of some of the individuals who had helped create The Empire.  Lord Newcastle campaigned for an Order of Merit, which would be awarded to persons showing “distinguished and prominent personal gallantry”, and should recognise “every grade and individual from the highest to the lowest”.

And so it came to be that the Victoria Cross was founded by Royal Warrant on 29 January 1856.  It was available to all servicemen and would be Great Britain’s highest award for gallantry, above any Sovereigns award or Commonwealth decoration.

The medals were cast from bronze taken from a Russian cannon captured during the Crimean War.  Its wording on the front would read simply “For Valour”, with the date and act of bravery to be engraved on the back, and the recipients  

name on the back of the clasp.  Originally the ribbon was red for the army and blue for the navy, but in 1918 with the inception of the Royal Air Force, the ribbon was changed to red for all services.

Since its inception, over 1350 Victoria crosses have been awarded to several nationalities, not just British, including Irish, Canadian, South African and Australian.  Among the British men to receive this award over the last 150 years, many have been from Yorkshire.

One of the first was Alan Richard Hill.  In 1881 at the height of the British Empire under Queen Victoria, the British Army was involved in heavy combat in South Africa during the first Boer War, when 21 year old Lieutenant Hill performed an act of bravery which was to earn him the country’s highest military honour.

Alan Hill was born on 12^th July 1859 in the Yorkshire town of Northallerton.  As a young man he joined the army and ended up serving in the 2^nd Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment, rising to the rank of Lieutenant.

On 28^th January 1881, the regiment was under heavy fire at a small place called Laing’s Nek in South Africa.  The battle with the Boers was going badly and so the retreat was sounded and the British pulled back.  During the withdrawal Hill spotted a comrade, Lt Baillie lying wounded on the field and unable to retreat.  Ignoring his orders, Hill went back to the stricken man and tried to lift him on to a horse.   Unfortunately he was unable  to get Baillie onto a mount, and so lifted him into his arms and struggled across the battlefield. 

Before reaching safety, Baillie was again hit by a bullet and died in Hill’s arms in the field.  Despite this setback, Hill twice returned to the battlefield to bring back fallen comrades, both of which made it back to safety.

For his selfless action, Lt. Hill was cited for the Victoria Cross in March 1882.  His rescue of one of the injured men, Bandsman Tuck, can now be read in Tuck’s journal which is on display  in the National Army Museum.  Hill later changed his name and went on to become  Major Alan Hill-Walker VC, and died in on 21^st April 1944 in Thirsk, aged 84.

During the First World War, or The Great War as it was known at the time, the British forces were admirably served by the East Yorkshire Regiment, and four serving soldiers of this regiment were awarded the Victoria Cross for their efforts.

One of these men was Private George William Chafer of the 1^st Battalion.  Born in Bradford on 16 April 1894, by June 1916, the 22 year old was with his battalion east of Meaulle in France when they came under a heavy bombardment of artillery fire and waves of poison gas.   Chafer’s trench was hit  by a shell and he suffered serious injuries to his  hand and leg.  Stunned and bleeding, Chafer lay in the remains of his dugout a trooper came into view calling for an officer to hand an important message to.  As he approached, another shell landed nearby, leaving the messenger unconscious and half buried in the mud and debris.

Chafer realised how important the message could be and dragged himself to his stricken comrade.  He retrieved the message from the man’s pocket, and despite his injuries and being half blinded by mustard gas, climber onto the parapet of the ruined trench and headed across the battlefield to deliver the information in his possession.

He was later spotted by a corporal, limping due to his leg wound and with the remains of his hand hanging from his arm.  Crying, “A message for the Captain”, he handed over his burden and promptly collapsed. After medical attention he recovered and lived until March 1966 as one of Yorkshire’s finest sons.

When awarded the Victoria Cross, the citation in the London Gazette spoke of his “conspicuous bravery”, and said he displayed “great initiative and a splendid devotion to duty at a crucial moment.”  His medal is currently on display at the Prince of Wales Own regiment of Yorkshire Museum in York.

One of the men who also found himself in action in France was Donald Simpson Bell, the only professional footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross.  Born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Bell was a superb athlete, excelling in rugby, cricket and football.  From 1910 to 1912 he played football for Crystal Palace and Bishop Auckland before moving to St. James Park and Newcastle United as an amateur while working as a teacher.  He then made the move to the professional game, signing for Bradford Park Avenue but played a mere five games before the war interrupted his career.

Rising to the rank of 2^nd Lieutenant in the 9^th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment of the Green Howards, in 1916, as part of Kitchener’s Volunteer Army, Bell crossed The Channel to the Western Front in preparation for the Battle of The Somme.

On July 5^th 1916 the Green Howards were ordered to take a position known as Horse Shoe Trench from the Germans.  Despite attacking higher ground, the Howards gained the site with the capture of 146 Germans.

The enemy, however, regrouped and launched a counter-offensive, pinning down the British troops with machine gun fire.  Acting on his own initiative, Bell made a dash towards the enemy and was quickly joined by fellow Howards, Corporal Colwill and Private Batey.  Bell was of course a professional sportsman, blessed with great speed, and his dash across the open ground caught the enemy by surprise.  He attacked the machine gun position, shooting the gunner then killing the other Germans with grenades.  He then moved on to a nearby trench of enemy soldiers, and again with the use of grenades, managed to kill around 50 Germans and secure the position and the safety of his comrades.

Despite claiming in a letter to his mother soon after that this successful attack was “the biggest fluke…. I only chucked the bomb and it did the trick”, Bell was cited for the Victoria Cross in September of that year.  Unfortunately he was never to know of this recognition, as he died five days after his heroics during a similar attack on another machine gun post, which became known as Bell’s Redoubt.                                                                                                                         

His fellow troops erected a cross along with railings and his helmet to honour him, and his grave was tended and looked after during the rest of the campaign as a mark of respect and thanks to him.

In World War two, only one man from Leeds was awarded the Victoria Cross.  Arthur Louis Aaron was born in Roundhay on 5^th March 1922, and was studying to be an architect at Leeds University when in 1941 he became one of 23 cadets who founded the Inaugural Flight of Leeds University Air Squadron,  before gaining his pilots wings in June the following year.

He then joined the RAF, becoming a member of 218 Squadron Royal Air Force Volunteer Service.  On 12^th August 1943, he and his crew were on a bombing mission over Turin in Italy when his craft was badly damaged by enemy fighter fire.  Three engines were hit, the navigator killed outright and Aaron was hit and severely wounded.  Much of his face was torn away and his jaw was broken, as well as his right arm being rendered useless. 

The aircraft began to nosedive as Aaron slumped over the controls, but the flight engineer and bomb aimer managed to regain control of the plane over The Mediterranean.  Aaron urged the bomber to head south towards Africa before being taken into the rear of the aircraft where he received medical attention and morphine for the pain.

After drifting in and out of consciousness and despite his injuries, Aaron returned to the cockpit.  He took control of the plane again briefly, but was persuaded to once again relinquish control. 

He did however stay up front to guide the bomber flying the plane and directed him towards Algeria before instructing him through the landing procedure.  After five attempts, in darkness and with no undercarriage, the aircraft touched down successfully.  Aaron had directed his crew for five hours despite horrendous injuries and being in considerable pain.

Nine hours later exhaustion caught up with him, and he died in hospital.  If he had rested immediately after being wounded he might well have survived, but his only thought was to help save his crew and guide them to safety.

In November 1943 Arthur Aaron was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross and the Distinguished Flying Medal.  In 2000, a statue of Aaron was erected on the Eastgate Roundabout in Leeds following a poll amongst the people of the city.

Ian John McKay was born in  the Yorkshire town of Worley on 7 May 1953.  After leaving school he joined The Parachute Regiment and by 1982 and the Falklands Conflict with Argentina, had risen to the rank of Platoon Sergeant with 4 Platoon B Company.

During the night of 11-12 June, the Paras mounted an attack under the cover of darkness on Argentinian forces positioned on Mount Longdon near Port Stanley.  After successfully completing their first objective, they were ordered to clear an east-west ridge, where the enemy had dug in.

During the advance, the platoon came under increasingly heavy fire and received numerous casualties, eventually being forced to take cover. 

The platoons position was becoming increasingly perilous, and so the Platoon Commander took McKay, a Corporal and a handful of troops to try and gain some respite for his men.

Unfortunately the Commander took a bullet in the leg, forcing McKay to take command of the unit.  He decided that attack was the best form of defence, and taking the Corporal and two Privates he mounted a charge on the enemy machine guns.  Under a hail of bullets one of the Privates was killed, and both the remaining Private and the Corporal were injured.

Despite this, McKay continued to advance on the enemy single handed, and reached the Argentinian bunker where he dispatched the enemy with grenades, but also took a hit himself, falling onto the bunker and dying.  His company were now able to re-deploy and his actions ensured a successful  mission by the British and saved many lives in the process.  He was cited for a posthumous VC in October 1982 and was said to have “displayed courage and leadership of the highest order.”

Without the actions of these men over the years, life for us today could have been very different.  It is fitting that in this, the 150^th anniversary of the Victoria Cross, we remember these men and all the sons of Yorkshire whose courage and devotion to duty have helped shape this great nation.  Gentlemen, we salute you.

 

End

© Barry J. Hindmarch 2006

Local Heroes Sept 2005

Two artcles written to comemorate the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest award for valour.  One is based on North east winners of the VC, the second was adapted specially as a request to an editor and focuses on awardees from Durham (This was published in February 2006 edition of Durham Town & Country.)

 

Local Heroes

 

One hundred and fifty years ago, Queen Victoria ruled one of the smallest nations in the world, and at the same time, the greatest empire in the history of the planet.

The British Empire stretched from Australia and New Zealand, through India, Africa, Central and North America and beyond.  It was accurately said that the sun never set on the British Empire.  The soldiers and sailors of Great Britain were feared and respected across the globe for their organisation, bravery, skill and determination.

Following the end of the Crimean War, support was growing for an award to recognise the bravery of some of the individuals who had helped create The Empire.  Lord Newcastle campaigned for an Order of Merit, which would be awarded to persons showing “distinguished and prominent personal gallantry”, and should recognise “every grade and individual from the highest to the lowest”.

And so it came to be that the Victoria Cross was founded by Royal Warrant on 29 January 1856.  It was available to all servicemen and would be Great Britain’s highest award for gallantry, above any Sovereigns award or Commonwealth decoration.

The medals were cast from bronze taken from a Russian cannon captured during the Crimean War.  Its wording on the front would read simply “For Valour”, with the date and act of bravery to be engraved on the back, and the recipients name on the back of the clasp.  Originally the ribbon was red for the army and blue for the navy, but in 1918 with the inception of the Royal Air Force, the ribbon was changed to red for all services.

Since its inception, over 1350 Victoria crosses have been awarded to several nationalities, not just British, including Irish, Canadian, South African and Australian.  Among the British men to receive this award over the last 150 years, many have been from the north east of England.

One of the first winners of the award was Corporal William Wilson Allen.  Allen was born near Berwick and served with the 2nd Battalion 24^th (2^nd Warkwickshire.) Regiment of Foot.  In January 1879 he was at a small supply station in Southern Africa.  Little would anyone know that this would be the site of the most heroic battle in British Army history.  The station was called Rorke's drift and would be later imortalised in the Michael Caine film, Zulu.  On the 22^nd and 23^rd of January 1879, 150 soldiers defended their post against over 4000 Zulu warriors with only their Martini-Henry rifles and “some guts behind them”.

Allen, aged 35 at the time, suffered severe wounds and was in the hospital block when the Zulus broke through the British lines and entered the camp.  Allen with his also injured comrade, Hitch, helped keep communication lines open with the hospital and then helped to get fellow patients to safety as the block was gradually overrun and then burned.  After further treatment Allen rejoined his comrades in the fight and helped by serving out ammunition to soldiers defending

the walls.

After two days of fighting, the Zulus ceased their onslaught and after saluting their brave foes, they moved on.  For his part in the battle, the Queen presented Corporal Allen with the Victoria Cross on 9 December 1879.

Another early awardee was Private Edward Lawson of Newcastle who was serving with The Gordon Highlanders in India in 1897.   The Highlanders were serving in The Tirah Campaign, which is most notably associated with the famous Khyber Pass.

On 20^th October 1897, the Highlanders were attacking a heavily defended area in the Dargan Heights.  Lawson spotted a comrade, Lieutenant Dingwall, lying stranded and badly wounded.  Upon realizing Dingwall was unable to move, Lawson braved the heavy gunfire and crossed the battlefield to him, before picking him up and carrying him back to the British lines and safety.  Despite being wounded, Private Lawson returned to the field in order to rescue another fallen comrade, one Private McMillan.  For these gallant acts Edward Lawson was presented with the Victoria Cross on 20 May 1898.

In 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the world entered into The Great War, the war to end all wars.  Hundreds of thousands died on the battlefields of Europe, and nowhere was the fighting heavier than in the trenches of The Somme on the Western Front.

One of the men who found himself in action here was Donald Simpson Bell, the only professional footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross.  Born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Bell was a superb athlete, excelling in rugby, cricket and football.  From 1910 to 1912 he played football for Crystal Palace and Bishop Auckland before moving to St. James Park and Newcastle United as an amateur while working as a teacher.  He then made the move to the professional game, signing for Bradford Park Avenue and playing a mere five games before the war interrupted his career.

Rising to the rank of 2^nd Lieutenant in the 9^th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment of the Green Howards, in 1916 as part of Kitchener’s Volunteer Army, Bell crossed The Channel in preparation for the Battle of The Somme.

On July 5^th 1916 the Green Howards were ordered to take a position known as Horse Shoe Trench from the Germans.  Despite attacking higher ground, the Howards gained the site with the capture of 146 Germans.

The enemy, however, regrouped and launched a counter-offensive, pinning down the British troops with machine gun fire.  Acting on his own initiative, Bell made a dash towards the enemy and was quickly joined by fellow Howards, Corporal Colwill and Private Batey.  Bell was of course a professional sportsman, blessed with great speed, and his dash across the open ground caught the enemy by surprise.  He attacked the machine gun position, shooting the gunner then killing the other Germans with grenades.  He then moved on to a nearby trench of enemy soldiers, and again with the use of grenades, managed to kill around 50 Germans and secure the position and the safety of his

comrades.

Despite claiming in a letter to his mother soon after that this successful attack was “the biggest fluke…. I only chucked the bomb and it did the trick”, Bell was cited for the Victoria Cross in September of that year.  Unfortunately he was never to know of this recognition, as he died five days later during a similar attack on another machine gun post,  which became known as Bell’s Redoubt, His fellow troops erected a cross along with railings and his helmet to honour him, and his grave was tended and looked after during the rest of the campaign as a mark of respect and thanks to him.

A year after Bell’s heroics, another north-east man serving in France earned the highest honour.  Born in Durham City in 1880, Michael Wilson Heaviside joined the Durham Light Infantry as a young man.  By May of 1917 found himself deep in French territory near the little town of Fontaine-les-Croiselles.

On 6^th May, a British soldier was spotted across no-mans land, around 40 yards from the enemy guns.  He was obviously wounded and in some distress, but as it was still daylight, a rescue mission could not be attempted, and so the man would have to wait until the cover of darkness.

Heaviside, however, volunteered to take food and water to the injured man.  Despite heavy gunfire from the Germans, he scrambled his way over the barbed wire and through the mud to reach the stricken man.  In turned out that the man had been lying in the shell hole for four days, and was delirious with thirst, hunger and pain.

After helping to make the man more comfortable, he returned to the British lines to await nightfall.  As soon as it was dark enough, Heaviside and two comrades returned to the wounded soldier and managed to carry him to safety.  The dash to the man in the afternoon had undoubtedly saved his life, and for his bravery Michael Heaviside was awarded the Victoria Cross, which is currently on display in the DLI Museum in Durham.

Another winner of the Victoria Cross from the ranks of the Durham Light Infantry was 2^nd Lieutenant (later Captain) Richard Annand from the 2^nd Battalion.  In May 1940, the then 25 year old was stationed in Belgium, helping defend the River Dyle from the advancing Germans.  After three days and nights of fierce fighting, the orders came to withdraw, and Annand’s platoon pulled back amid heavy gunfire.

Annand was wounded during the retreat, but upon realising that his servant, or batman,  was seriously wounded and still lying in the field, he returned to rescue his comrade.  Despite now bleeding heavily himself, he took possession of a wheelbarrow, and used it to transport the man back to the relative safety of the Allied lines, where he himself collapsed due to loss of blood.  For his actions in saving his comrade’s life, Richard Annand was awarded the first Victoria Cross of World War II.

During World War II, nowhere was the fighting more intense than on the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day landings, as was graphically depicted in the film Saving Private Ryan.  Despite this, only one VC was awarded for bravery on the actual day of the invasion, to Company Sergeant-Major Stanley Elton Hollis from Middlesbrough.

On 6^th June 1944, CSM Hollis and the Green Howards landed at Mont Fleury.  After surviving the carnage on the beach, Hollis’s company cleared the sands and gathered on a small ridge.  Much of the area had been cleared, but the company came under machine gun fire from a pillbox, which had been missed, in an earlier sweep by the Allies.  Realising the Allies could be cut off, or fired upon from behind as they advanced, Hollis raced towards the pillbox, firing his sten gun.  As he reached the fortification, he jumped on top and threw a grenade inside, killing the two machine gunners.  He then opened fire into the pillbox and succeeded in obtaining the surrender of around twenty Germans.  This action allowed the Allies a clear exit from the beach, and saved his company from certain casualties if they had moved on.

Later that same day, in the nearby village of Crepon, Hollis was ordered to attack a German field gun.  Following an unsuccessful assault by some of his men, Hollis armed himself with an anti-tank gun, and with two comrades proceeded to crawl towards the enemy position.  While taking cover in a nearby house, Hollis was shot in the face, causing him to fire a shell into the roof of the building, which promptly collapsed around him. 

Hollis escaped back to his company, but his two comrades had been cut off and were pinned down in a rhubarb patch.  Hollis single-handedly charged the enemy, creating a diversion which allowed the two soldiers to scramble back to safety. 

For these two acts of courage, helping complete his company’s objectives, saving many lives in the process, Hollis was awarded the Victoria Cross in August 1944.

As long as there are wars, there will be individual acts of heroism displayed by men such as these.  If it wasn’t for their actions, life in modern day Britain would be a great deal different.  These acts of bravery over the years should not be forgotten, and on the 150^th anniversary of the Victoria Cross, is seems fitting that we should remember the sacrifices made by some of these men.  These are men that the whole country in general, and our region in particular can be proud of.  Gentlemen, we salute you.

 

Local Heroes of The Great War

One hundred and fifty years ago, Queen Victoria ruled one of the smallest nations in the world, and at the same time, the greatest empire in the history of the planet.

The British Empire stretched from Australia and New Zealand, through India, Africa, Central and North America and beyond.  It was accurately said that the sun never set on the British Empire.  The soldiers and sailors of Great Britain were feared and respected across the globe for their organisation, bravery, skill and determination.

Following the end of the Crimean War, support was growing for an award to recognise the bravery of some of the individuals who had helped create The Empire.  Lord Newcastle campaigned for an Order of Merit, which would be awarded to persons showing “distinguished and prominent personal gallantry”, and should recognise “every grade and individual from the highest to the lowest”.

And so it came to be that the Victoria Cross was founded by Royal Warrant on 29 January 1856.  It was available to all servicemen and would be Great Britain’s highest award for gallantry, above any Sovereigns award or Commonwealth decoration.

The medals were cast from bronze taken from a Russian cannon captured during the Crimean War.  Its wording on the front would read simply “For Valour”, with the date and act of bravery to be engraved on the back, and the recipients name on the back of the clasp.  Originally the ribbon was red for the army and blue for the navy, but in 1918 with the inception of the Royal Air Force, the ribbon was changed to red for all services.

Since its inception, over 1350 Victoria Crosses have been awarded to several nationalities, not just British, including Irish, Canadian, South African and Australian.  Among the British men to receive this award over the last 150 years, many have been from County Durham, with the famous Durham Light Infantry proud to have had no less than seven VCs awarded to it’s servicemen.

In 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the world entered into The Great War, the war to end all wars.  Hundreds of thousands died on the battlefields of Europe.  Many came from Durham and the ranks of the DLI.

One such man was Michael Wilson Heaviside. Born in Durham City in 1880, Heaviside joined the Durham Light Infantry as a young man.  By May of 1917 found himself deep in French territory near the little town of Fontaine-les-Croiselles.

On 6^th May, a British soldier was spotted across no-mans land, around 40 yards from the enemy guns.  He was obviously wounded and in some distress, but as it was still daylight, a rescue mission could not be attempted,

and so the man would have to wait until the cover of darkness.

Heaviside, however, volunteered to take food and water to the injured man.  Despite heavy gunfire from the Germans, he scrambled his way over the

barbed wire and through the mud to reach the stricken man.  It turned out that the man had been lying in the shell hole for four days, and was delirious with thirst, hunger and pain.

After helping to make the man more comfortable, he returned to the British lines to await nightfall.  As soon as it was dark enough, Heaviside and two comrades returned to the wounded soldier and managed to carry him to safety.  The dash to the man in the afternoon had undoubtedly saved his life, and for his bravery Michael Heaviside was awarded the Victoria Cross, which is currently on display in the DLI Museum in Durham.

In 1895 a child was born in Boldon Colliery and named Thomas Morrell, but by the time he joined the DLI at Gateshead in 1914, he had adopted his mother’s maiden name of Young, and it was under the moniker of Thomas Young that he was to earn the country’s greatest honour.

In April 1915, as a member of the 9^th Battalion, he was sent to Northern France  and was almost immediately thrown deep into the Second Battle of Ypres as a stretcher bearer.  He survived this, but a year later he was wounded in the thigh and forced to return home to County Durham.  As soon as he had recovered he was heading back to join his comrades, and by May 1917 he was serving again on the Western Front.  For almost a year he was a stretcher bearer on the Somme, and was still there in March 1918 when the Germans mounted a massive offensive against the Allies.

He was positioned in a support trench south of Bucquoy near Arras.  On 26^th March the Germans overran the British front line, leaving the DLI facing the full onslaught of the enemy.  For five days the DLI, supported by the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment fought bravely and held up the German advance before they were relieved by re-enforcements.

During this five days, the casualties were high, with many wounded men left stranded in no-mans land, unable to reach safety.  On nine separate occasions, Thomas Young made his way across the battlefield to reach injured soldiers.  He was able to treat them and give them food and water  before carrying them back to the British lines, despite coming under increasingly  heavy rifle, machine gun and artillery fire.

On 29^th June, King George V presented Young with the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace for rescuing nine soldiers lying in no-mans land during the five days of battle.  A day later, the Mayor of Gateshead, the Earl of Durham and a crowd of around 15,000 were at Saltwell Park in Gateshead as Young was presented with an engraved watch, a silver cigarette case and some War Bonds.

In 1966 in the DLI Regimental Journal, an old officer of his wrote of “his quiet determination to bring in the wounded….nine times he calmly went out, unarmed to what ought to have been certain death.”  He was the last of six DLI soldiers to receive a VC during the Great War.

Finally, there can be few families in Durham, or indeed Great Britain, that can be prouder of the service given to their country than the Bradford

Family.  George and Amy Bradford of Witton Park, Bishop Aukland had four sons, Thomas, George, James and Roland.  They were all educated in Darlington but were never overly academic and it was the outbreak of war in 1914 that was to prove to be making of them.

The eldest, Thomas, like so many of his young friends, joined the Durham Light Infantry and was sent to France.  In 1915 at the Battle of Ypres, most of his company was lost, but Thomas fought on and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order the following year for his part in the battle. He went on to survive the war and was later knighted and became the High Sheriff of County Durham.

Third son James joined the Northumberland Hussars, going to France in 1914, before transferring to the DLI to join his brothers as a non-commissioned officer.  He was wounded in 1916 and returned home, but went back to the battlefront and was awarded the Military Cross a year later following an attack on an enemy position.

Two months later at Gavrelle he was wounded in the shoulder and the leg, but despite surgery to try and save him, James Bradford died after four days at the age of 27.

Second son George gained even greater recognition than Thomas and James.  He had actually joined the Royal Navy in 1902 at the tender age of 15, and his leadership qualities and ability saw him rise through the ranks and he was a Lieutenant Commander by the time of the Battle of Jutland in World War 1. 

 In early 1918, however, he volunteered to be part of a raid on the Belgian port of Zebrugge and found himself aboard the Iris heading across the North Sea.  The mission had the aim of blocking the harbour by sinking their own ships and then storming the breakwater.

On the night of the assault the weather was horrendous with driving rain and crashing waves.   Unable to secure the ships in the harbour due to the rolling seas, the mission looked to be faltering until George seized a parapet anchor and climbed one of the ship’s derricks.  Despite the pitching of the sea causing the derrick to crash into the high breakwater, George hung on then timed his jump across the gap before securing the Iris to the harbour wall.

Moments later he was shot and killed, falling from the harbour wall into the dark waters below.  He was 30 years old.  For his initiative and bravery he received a posthumous Victoria Cross in February 1919, along with six others awarded for actions during this mission.

The youngest of the brothers, Roland Boys Bradford also joined the DLI like Thomas and James.  During his first action in Rheims in 1914, he fought so well and was obviously such a natural leader, that he was awarded the Military Cross.

As the war progressed, a series of promotions saw him reach the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the 9^th Battalion at the age of only 24.  He had developed into an intelligent commander and relied heavily on training and innovative ideas to protect his men on the battlefield, leading to him gaining a reputation as a conscientious and caring officer.

In October 1916 at Eaucourt l’Abbage, the British came under increasingly heavy fire and suffered severe casualties.  As an Allied battalion began to capitulate, Bradford realised that the flank of the British lines was seriously exposed.  The battalion commander was wounded and so Roland was granted permission to take command of the extra troops.

For thirty-six hours Roland led the two battalions, eventually rallying his troops onto the offensive, thereby securing the British position.  For his fearless leadership under sustained enemy fire, Roland Boys Bradford was awarded the Victoria Cross.

By 1917 he had reached the rank of Brigadier General, the youngest in the history of the British Army at the age of 25.  He led his new brigade in the first ever major tank battle, at Cambrai, and at one stage advanced over four miles in a single day, which was the longest single advance since 1914.

On 30 November 1917 he left headquarters for a tour of his brigade.  By early afternoon he had not returned, so a search party was sent out and discovered his body.  He had been killed by shrapnel, following a mortar attack.  Despite all he had achieved during his military service, he was still only 25 years of age.

In 1918 when Amy Bradford collected George’s Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace, it was her third visit to collect an award for a dead son.  Upon recognising her, King George was alleged to have remarked, “What, you again?”  Few mothers could have felt more pride, or suffered such great loss.

Recognition of the Bradfords still goes on with Darlington Memorial Hospital still having The Bradford Entrance to this day, to commemorate four of County Durham’s finest sons.

As long as there are wars, there will be individual acts of heroism displayed by men such as these.  If it wasn’t for their actions, life in modern day Britain would be a great deal different.  These acts of bravery over the years should not be forgotten, and on the 150^th anniversary of the Victoria Cross, is seems fitting that we should remember the sacrifices made by some of these men.  These are men that the whole country in general and our region in particular can be proud of.  Gentlemen, we salute you.

 END