From climbing onto the wing of an aircraft in-flight, to fighting hand-to-hand with the enemy, their stories are inspiring. In one hundred dark days much of South East Asia and more had fallen to a marauding Imperial army. It thanks soldiers and sailors of all ranks: for most conspicuous bravery or some daring preeminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy”. During the Battle of Hong Kong, the unit that Company Sergeant Major John Osborn was leading became surrounded by the enemy. Born in Duncan, British Columbia. A total of 27 Gurkha Battalions of the British Indian Army and manned by the gallant and light-hearted hillmen from Nepal fought together with the British and many other Allied nationalities for General Slim in that punishing campaign – one that, when set against battles closer to home in North Africa and Europe, was overlooked. From time to time we have guest posts from partners, visitors and friends of Historic Environment Scotland. Lieutenant Tom Adlam was one of those who received the Victoria Cross on the Somme, after leading a team who stormed a German trench. Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski. The Field Marshal stood up, called for silence and announced: “Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to apologise for the noise, but you need to know that you are dining tonight with five holders of the Victoria Cross.” Immediately the whole restaurant rose to its feet and cheered the Gurkhas with a spontaneous round of applause. "Still, I did feel despatching parties to scenes of disaster instead of leading them. View all posts by Guest Blog. The war in Burma was one of fluctuating fortunes. By October 1914 he was serving in France with 1st Seaforth, in 7th Indian (Meerut) Division. Sergeant Edwards, regardless of his wound, led his men on till the objective was captured. The Victoria Cross was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1856. When his troops were surrounded on all sides, Triquet was heard to yell, "...There is only one safe place - that is on the objective!". Later in 1940, he was evacuated from Dunkirk, having been wounded during the retreat. Express. Won the Victoria Cross on August 4, 1944, at St. Maximin, France. His courage and self-sacrifice were beyond praise.". The war, also known as World War II (WWII), was a global military conflict that involved a majority of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. "He had no idea why, so he sent a telegram to his father ... and he said 'why congratulations, what for? Born in Trail, British Columbia. Not all witnesses to the Gurkha campaign in Burma have disappeared. After the ceremony I accompanied these five gallant Gurkhas to visit the late Field Marshal Bramall at his home in Surrey. Dismissing his injuries as "absolutely nothing" and "two minute fragments of shell in my back", he told his father in a letter on August 14: "I had been badly disgraced as last night I was forbidden to leave the dressing station. Victoria Cross Stories. Captain Frederick Peters braved fierce fire in taking part in a heroic ship assault on harbour defences during Allied landings in Algeria in 1942. Victoria Cross. I didn't really realise what it was all about. Even at the age of 101, Captain Kulbahadur Gurung personifies what the Gurkha soldier is all about – robust and gallant, a worthy friend and a fearsome foe – a surviving measure of the contribution the Gurkha soldier made in the Burma campaign that cost them 2,600 lives (including 113 of their British Officers). GEN. MACARTHUR'S HQ, January 2,---Pte, Richard Kelliher, 30, fifth member of the AIF in this war to be awarded the Victoria Cross, is a native of Ireland, but he has no dreams of going back there to live. However, he was discharged from his job after contracting blackwater fever and turned his hand to driving lorries. During the North African Campaign, he fought from El Alamein to Tunis, during which he was wounded while serving as part of the 8th Army with the 50th (Tyne and Tees) Northumbrian Division. Millions of soldiers and civilians had lost their lives. Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse of the Royal Army Medical Corps, was awarded his first VC on August 9 1916, after spending two days rescuing soldiers under heavy fire in No Man's Land during an attack on the village of Guillemont. Alexander Edwards was born on 4 November 1885 in Lossiemouth, Morayshire, to Alexander and Jessie Edwards. As well, it invites Canadians to become involved in remembrance activities that will help preserve their legacy for future generations. They were only 20 yards from the pillbox when machine-gun fire erupted from the slit. The PWRR and its forebears have won a total of 57 Victoria Crosses, including that of Sergeant Johnson Beharry who was awarded a VC for his actions in Iraq in 2004. Express. Winners Story. SC045925, Shining a Spotlight on Community Heritage. At the same time, the field gun was fired on Hollis and his party, who were sheltering in a house just 50 yards away. Corporal Ware, whose cool gallantry had been very marked during the advance, was one of the few men remaining unwounded. While holding out against the enemy in a bridgehead over the Savio River of Italy in 1944, Private Ernest 'Smokey' Smith single-handedly fought off enemy tanks and infantry, while protecting his wounded comrade. Three Gurkha Battalions fought a gallant delaying battle in Malaya with their remnants ordered to surrender in the humiliating debacle of Singapore. The last time he led all that remained, consisting of about fifty men, in a most gallant manner and was killed at their head. In April 1940, he was ordered to France as a member of the 6th Battalion, where he joined the British Expeditionary Force. Won the Victoria Cross December 14, 1943, at Casa Berardi, Italy. At dawn on June 6, 1944, CSM Hollis was in one of the first assault troop carriers to land on the five targeted beaches. Won the Victoria Cross March 1, 1945, in the Hochwald forest, Germany. An order was given to withdraw to the cover of a communication trench. CSM Hollis himself then retreated to safety. Cosens assumed command of his battered platoon and personally cleared the German defenders from three buildings in the midst of intense enemy fire, killing or taking prisoner at least 40 Germans before he himself was killed by a sniper. Lance Corporal McBeath, regardless of all danger, rushed in after them, shot an enemy who opposed him on the steps, and drove the remainder of the garrison out of the dug-out, capturing 3 officers and 30 men. The story of those men is emblematic of the 35,000 officers and soldiers of the Gurkha Rifles led by General Bill Slim who helped bring the Second World War to a close but whose exploits have been overshadowed by history. Shouting a warning, he threw himself upon the grenade as it exploded, giving his life for his comrades. Assistance Service can provide you with psychological support. His second Victoria Cross would come during the First Battle of El Alamein in 1942 that would end with him bleeding out, unable to move, and subsequently captured by the Germans. You can find the museum on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. Then he started throwing bombs in front of him down the German trench until eventually they ran out of bombs.". Won the Victoria Cross March 24, 1945, east of the Rhine in Germany. Then entering the bunker, he proceeded to batter a final Japanese soldier to death with rocks. Born in Norfolk, England (later emigrating to Saskatchewan). He survived the war and went on to work at a steelworks, in a motor repair business, back at sea and, finally, as a publican. Later the same day, in the village of Crepon, the company encountered enemy soldiers armed with Spandaus – machine guns – and a field gun. Won the Victoria Cross June 12, 1944, at Cambrai, France. Defending his forward post on the west bank of the Irrawaddy, Lachhiman Gurung met them and in winning his VC lost an eye and a hand in a tenacious close-quarter fight that left 37 enemy dead in front of his trench. Major David Vivian Currie - The South Alberta Regiment. These Canadian Victoria Cross recipients represent members of the navy, army, and the air force and earned the medals in theatres of war ranging from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, from Europe to Africa to the Far East. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, A simple and secure way to do business online with Donald Mackintosh was born on 7 February 1896 in Glasgow to Colonel Donald J Mackintosh, Superintendent of Glasgow Western Infirmary, and his wife. A last Gurkha survivor of the Chindits – the men who waged guerrilla warfare deep behind enemy lines – now lives with his family in the centre of Kathmandu.
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