Tag: Victoria Cross

For Valour: A First-Day Battle of the Somme VC

For Valour: A First-Day Battle of the Somme VC

Temporary-Major Stewart Walter Loudoun-Shand of the Yorkshire Regiment was one of nine men to receive the Victoria Cross – Britain’s highest award for valour ‘in the face of the enemy’ – on the first-day of the Battle of the Somme, fought from 1 July to 18 November 1916. Of those nine, only three would survive…

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Wing Commander James Brindley Nicolson VC DFC

Wing Commander James Brindley Nicolson VC DFC

Despite the length and ferociousness of the aerial combat, Flight Lieutenant James Nicolson was the only RAF pilot to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the Battle of Britain. Indeed, he was the only member of Fighter Command to receive the prestigious award throughout the whole of the Second World War. So who was James…

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Major-General Nevill Smyth VC

Major-General Nevill Smyth VC

On 2 September 1898, Captain Nevill Maskelyne Smyth of the 2nd Dragoon Guards would perform an act of valour that would result in the award of a Victoria Cross. His citation, published in the London Gazette of 15 November 1898, read: ‘At the Battle of Khartum [Omdurman] on the 2nd September, 1898, Captain Smyth galloped…

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Commander Loftus Jones VC

Commander Loftus Jones VC

A total of four Victoria Crosses were awarded for the Battle of Jutland, fought near Denmark on 31 May-1 June 1916. Several of them are well-known, including those to Jack Cornwell of HMS Chester and Francis Harvey of the Royal Marine Light Infantry. However, few today are aware of Commander Loftus Jones and his actions…

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