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NICE NEWS PHOTO COLLECTION OF WORLD WAR I
INTERESTING ORIGINAL NEWS PHOTOGRAPHS OF: FOUR
VICTORIA CROSS WINNERS
THIS
ITEM IS COVERED BY OUR WRITTEN, SIGNED AND SEALED |
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The Victoria Cross (VC) is a military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service and civilians under military command, and is presented to the recipient by the British monarch during an investiture held at Buckingham Palace. As it is the highest award for bravery in the United Kingdom, it takes precedence over other post-nominals and medals. The VC was introduced in 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War. Since then the medal has been awarded 1,356 times to 1,353 individual recipients. Only 14 medals have been awarded since the end of the Second World War. The medal itself is made from the gunmetal of a weapon supposedly captured at the siege of Sevastopol, but several historians have since questioned the true origin of the gunmetal. Due to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal can reach over £200,000 at auction and there are a number of public and private collections devoted to it, most notably that of Lord Ashcroft, which contains over one-tenth of the total VCs awarded. |
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William Hackett (11
June 1873- 27 June 1916) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross,
the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the
enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was 43
years old, and a Sapper in the 254th Tunnelling Company, Corps of Royal
Engineers, British Army during the First World War when the following
deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
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George Stringer (24
July 1889-22 November 1957) was an English recipient of the Victoria
Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face
of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He
was 26 years old, and a private in the 1st Battalion, Manchester
Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following
deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
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Geoffrey St. George
Shillington Cather (born October 11 1890 - died July 2 1916) was
born in the Streatham Hill area of south-west London. He was an English
recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award
for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth forces. He was 25 years old, and a lieutenant in the
9th Battalion, The Royal Irish Fusiliers, British Army during the First
World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded
the VC.
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Michael O'Leary can also be considered Canadian. He came to Saskatchewan in 1913 and enlisted in the Royal North West Mounted Police, returning quickly to Ireland on the outbreak of the war a year later. O'Leary and his family returned to Canada after the war and he became an inspector in the Ontario Provincial Police. In 1925 they went to Michigan briefly before returning to England where O'Leary was a linkman in the Mayfair Hotel at London. He re-enlisted during World War II in the Middlesex Regiment, retiring as a major in 1945, and died on August 21, 1961, aged 70, at Whittington Hospital in Highgate. He is buried at Paddington cemetery Mill Hill, London. His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Irish Guards RHQ) (London, England). O'Leary Lake in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, has been named in his honour. |
Michael
O'Leary (VC) (September 29, 1890 – August 2, 1961) born Inchigeela,
Macroom, County Cork, Ireland was an Irish and Canadian recipient of the
Victoria Cross. He was 26 years old, and a Lance-Corporal in the 1st
Battalion, Irish Guards, British Army during the First World War when
the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On
February 1, 1915 at Cuinchy, France, Lance-Corporal O'Leary was one of
the storming party which advanced against the enemy's barricades. He
rushed to the front and killed five Germans who were holding the first
barricade, after which he attacked a second barricade 60 yards further
on. This he captured after killing three of the enemy and taking two
more of them prisoner. The lance-corporal thus practically took the
position by himself and prevented the rest of the attacking party from
being fired upon.
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Major John Hay Beith
(Ian Hay) (April 17, 1876 - September 22, 1952) from Edinburgh, Scotland
was a soldier, novelist, and playwright. He was educated at Fettes
College, Edinburgh and St. Johns College, Cambridge. He was a
second-lieutenant in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and was in
France in April of 1915 and was one of the first 100,000 of Kitchener's
Army. He was awarded the Military Cross. He was Director of Public
Relations at the War Office (1938-1941). His work was well known for its
wit; often quoted is this line from his play, "Housemaster": "What do
you mean, funny? Funny-peculiar or funny ha-ha?" From the same play, two
characteristic Hay lines, from masters' reports on their pupils: ‘He can
translate English into a Greek not spoken in Greece, and Greek into an
English not spoken anywhere, with equal facility’. and ‘Despite his
natural levity he habitually gravitates towards the bottom.’
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"Tall, soldierly, Scottish Ian Hay is one of the British writers most read by Britons. His 27 books have had total sales of over three million copies. Few authors have a better background for writing military narratives. A 36-year-old lieutenant in the famed Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Author Hay emerged from World War I a captain, from the Battle of Loos with the Military Cross. Says Hay: "I think I was given the M.C. for being the only survivor." His First Hundred Thousand became so popular in the U.S. in 1915 that Author Hay was later sent over to whoop it up for the Empire. ("I always get on with Americans," says Hay. "I love them.")" From Time Magazine, November 8, 1943. |
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Admiral and Sea Lord Sir Cyril Thomas Moulden Fuller was born in 1874, the son of Thomas Fuller of the 18th Hussars. He entered the Royal Navy in 1887 and was promoted to Lieutenant by 1894. The following year saw him promoted to Commander. Promoted to Captain in 1910, he served as the senior naval officer in the Togoland and Cameroon Expeditionary Forces. He was Mentioned in Despatches as a result of his contributions. He also commanded several vessels from 1914 to 1916 to include H.M.S. Cumberland, H.M.S. Challenger and H.M.S. Astraea. He received his C.M.G. (1915) and D.S.O. (1916) during this timeframe. From 1916 to 1917, he commanded the new battle cruiser H.M.S. Repulse. Following this, he served as the Director of Plans Division, Naval War Staff until 1920. One of his missions during this timeframe was to serve as the head of the British Naval Section Peace Conference in Paris from 1919 to 1920. He received his C.B. during this timeframe. The next two years saw him assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral during this timeframe (1921). From 1922-1923 he served as the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff. He served as the 3rd Sea Lord and Controller of the Navy from 1923 to 1925. Following this, he took command of the Battle Cruiser Squadron, Atlantic Fleet. He served in H.M.S. Hood at this time. He held this position until 1927. During this timeframe, he was promoted to Vice-Admiral (1926). After leaving Hood, Sir Cyril served as the Commander in Chief America and West Indies Station. In 1928 he received the KCB. He held this position until 1930, when he was promoted to Admiral and became the 2nd Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel. This position was held until 1932. He retired from military service in 1935. In addition to his titles and military honours, Sir Cyril had also been awarded the Board of Trade Life Saving Medal, Commander Legion of Honour, Commander of the Order of the Crown (Italy), Order of the Rising Sun, Croix de Guerre and US Navy Distinguished Service Medal. Sir Cyril Fuller died on 1 February 1942.
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Lieutenant Commander Warden |
The Albert
Medal for Lifesaving was instituted by Royal Warrant on 7 March 1866
and discontinued in 1971. The medal was named in memory of the Prince
Albert and was originally awarded to recognize saving life at sea. The
original medal had a blue ribbon 5/8" (16 mm) wide with 2 white stripes.
A further Royal Warrant in 1867 created two classes of Albert Medal, the
first in gold and bronze and the second in bronze, both enamelled in
blue, and the ribbon of the first class changed to 1 3/8" (35 mm) wide
with 4 white stripes.
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Lieutenant Chapman & Commander Horton |
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The
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the
United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded
for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces
during wartime, typically in actual combat. The DSO was instituted on 6
September 1886 by Queen Victoria in a Royal Warrant published on 9
November. Typically, awarded to officers ranked Major (or its
equivalent) or higher, the honour was sometimes awarded to especially
valorous junior officers. 8,981 DSOs were awarded during World War I,
each award being announced in the London Gazette.
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