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Wilfrid Edwards Tales of the V.C.

Wilfred Edwards enlisted as Private in the 7th Battalion, The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI)during the First World War and was awarded the VC for his actions on 16 August 1917 at Langemarck, Belgium, during the Battle of 3rd Ypres. On that day the 7th KOYLI were tasked to advance and capture enemy positions to their front, unfortunately for them, besides trenches, they also contained concrete blockhouses from which the battalion was lashed by machine gun fire. This caused the death or injury of all his company's officers, thereby creating confusion and halting the advance. At this time Private Edwards, without hesitation and under heavy machine gun and rifle fire, ran forward and threw grenades ('bombed') through the loopholes; he then, with enormous risk to himself, actually climbed on top of the construction and waved to his company to advance. Continuing aggression on his part was rewarded by the three German officers and 30 other ranks who occupied the blockhouse surrendering to him. Later during the advance he did most valuable work as a messenger('runner') and eventually guided most of the battalion out through very difficult ground, again a most dangerous task. Edwards was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in December 1917 and was demobilised in June 1919. He re-enlisted in the army when World War II broke out and rose to the rank of Major. He died in January 1972 and his medals are currently displayed in the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum, Doncaster, England. The attached account of his actions was written by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the government to destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. Remarkably these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped, and one can trace the development of many individual articles from the notes based on an idea, to the pencil draft which is then followed by the hand-written submission and the typescript. The archive Tales of the VC comprises 94 individual accounts of the heroism that earned the highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. These are recounted deferentially and economically, yet they still manage to move the reader. Date stamp: 26 November 1917.
Article with annotations.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Jeremy Arter

DATE

1917-08-16

LANGUAGE

eng

ITEMS

5

INSTITUTION

Europeana 1914-1918

PROGRESS

START DATE
TRANSCRIBERS
CHARACTERS
LOCATIONS
ENRICHMENTS

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METADATA

Source

UGC

Contributor

europeana19141918:agent/8d1d6eb94c917dceb7e8391761cbf75b

Date

1917-08-16

Type

Story

Language

eng
English

Country

Europe

DataProvider

Europeana 1914-1918

Provider

Europeana 1914-1918

DatasetName

2020601_Ag_ErsterWeltkrieg_EU

Begin

1917-08-16

End

1917-08-16

Language

mul

Agent

Wilfrid Edwards | europeana19141918:agent/2df4543016a0502b0c4630e719fe62f3
James Price Lloyd | europeana19141918:agent/2e7781cabe89e0fa6b5337db7fcc8692
Jeremy Arter | europeana19141918:agent/8d1d6eb94c917dceb7e8391761cbf75b

Created

2019-09-11T08:53:08.068Z
2019-09-11T08:53:08.041Z
2013-05-07 19:49:29 UTC
2013-05-08 15:11:35 UTC
2013-05-08 15:11:45 UTC
2013-05-08 15:11:54 UTC
2013-05-08 15:12:03 UTC
2013-05-08 15:12:13 UTC

Provenance

INTERNET

Record ID

/2020601/https___1914_1918_europeana_eu_contributions_5453

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Frederick Edwards Tales of the V.C.

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Private Frederick Edwards, 12th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, was awarded the V.C. for bravery on 26th September 1916 at Thiepval during the Battle of the Somme. His regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) commenced another attack against powerful German defences. Part of this advance was held up by machine gun fire during which time all the officers became casualties and, as happens on most like occasions because of such loss of leadership, confusion reigned and retirement, the usual course of action, would probably have occurred. However, Private Edwards, grasping the situation and on his own initiative dashed out towards the machine gun which he knocked out with his hand grenades. This very brave act, coupled with great presence of mind and total disregard of personal danger made further advance possible and cleared up a dangerous situation. It is possible that, as an Irishman, his service in the British Army, like many others was not viewed with favour by the new Republic and consequently he seems to have settled in London. However, later in life he was forced to sell his medal to make ends meet. This account of his actions was written by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the government to destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. Remarkably these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped, and one can trace the development of many individual articles from the notes based on an idea, to the pencil draft which is then followed by the hand-written submission and the typescript. The archive Tales of the VC comprises 94 individual accounts of the heroism that earned the highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. These are recounted deferentially and economically, yet they still manage to move the reader. Date stamp: 8 June 1918. || Article with annotations.

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Colin Barron Tales of the V.C.

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Article with annotations. || Colin Fraser Barron VC (20 September 1893 – 15 August 1958) was a Canadian 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. Although was born in Baldavie, Boyndie, Banffshire, Scotland,he immigrated to Canada in 1910 and then enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914. Barron was 24 years old, and a Corporal in the 3rd (Toronto) Battalion, CEF during the First World War when he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 6 November 1917 at the Battle of Passchendaele, Belgium, when his unit was held up by three machine-guns, Corporal Barron opened fire on them at point-blank range, rushed the guns, killed four of the crew and captured the remainder. He then turned one of the captured guns on the retiring enemy, causing severe casualties. This action produced far-reaching results and enabled the advance to continue. The attached account of his actions was written by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the government to destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. Remarkably these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped, and one can trace the development of many individual articles from the notes based on an idea, to the pencil draft which is then followed by the hand-written submission and the typescript. The archive Tales of the VC comprises 94 individual accounts of the heroism that earned the highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. These are recounted deferentially and economically, yet they still manage to move the reader. Date stamp: 31 January 1918.

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Robert MacBeath Tales of the V.C.

12 Items

Robert Gordon McBeath, VC (22 December 1898 – 9 October 1922) born in Kinlochbervie, Sutherland was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious medal that can be awarded to members of British military forces. McBeath was a 19 years old lance-corporal in the 1/5th Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, Duke of Albany's) of the British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.Citation: On 20 November 1917 during the Battle of Cambrai in France, Lance-Corporal McBeath volunteered to deal with a nest of machine-gunners that checked the advance of his unit and which had caused heavy casualties. He moved off alone, armed with a Lewis gun and a revolver. Finding that several other machine-guns were in action, McBeath attacked them with the assistance of a tank and drove the gunners to ground in a deep dug-out. McBeath rushed in after them, shot the first man who opposed him and then drove the remainder of the garrison out of the dug-out. He captured three officers and 30 men. McBeath's award was published in the London Gazette on 11 January 1918, which reads: For most conspicuous bravery when with his company in attack and approaching the final objective, a nest of enemy machine-guns in the western outskirts of a village opened fire both on his own unit and on the unit to the right. The advance was checked and heavy casualties resulted. When a Lewis gun was called for to deal with these machine-guns, L/Corpl. McBeath volunteered for the duty, and immediately moved off alone with a Lewis gun and his revolver. He located one of the machine-guns in action, and worked his way towards it, shooting the gunner with his revolver at 20 yards range. Finding several of the hostile machine-guns in action, he, with the assistance of a tank, attacked them and drove the gunners to ground in a deep dugout. L/Corpl. 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 three officers and 30 men. There were in all five machine-guns mounted round the dug-out, and by putting them out of action he cleared the way for the advance of both units. The conduct of L/Corpl. McBeath throughout three days of severe fighting was beyond praise Following the end of World War I McBeath married and emigrated to Canada where he was killed in the line of duty while working as a Police Officer in Vancouver, British Columbia. The attached account of his actions includes that He has already lost three brothers in the war.was written by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the government to destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. Remarkably these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped, and one can trace the development of many individual articles from the notes based on an idea, to the pencil draft which is then followed by the hand-written submission and the typescript. The archive Tales of the VC comprises 94 individual accounts of the heroism that earned the highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. These are recounted deferentially and economically, yet they still manage to move the reader. Date stamp: 17 January 1918. || Article with annotations.

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