Article with annotations. || Ivor Rees VC (18 October 1893 – 11 March 1967) was a Welsh recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth forces. Rees enlisted into the 11th, South Wales Borderers, part of the 115th Brigade, 38th Welsh Division. Rees survived the fighting at Mametz Wood, and moved with the Division to Ypres. At Ypres, the Battalion were tasked with the capture of the Pilckem Ridge - a heavily fortified German defensive line during the Battle of Passchendaele. His citation read: At Pilckem, Belgium, on 31st July 1917, an enemy machine gun inflicted many casualties when it opened fire at close range. Sergeant Rees, leading his platoon, gradually worked his way round the right flank, by making short rushes, to the rear of the gun position. At 20 yards from the machine gun, Sergeant Rees rushed forward towards it, shooting one of the crew, and bayoneting the other. He bombed a large concrete emplacement, killing five of the enemy and taking 30 prisoners, including two officers and capturing a machine gun, undamaged. —London Gazette. Major Edward Cooper VC (4 May 1896 – 19 August 1985) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross. Cooper was 21 years old, and at that date a Sergeant in the 12th Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place at the battle of Passchendaele for which he was awarded the VC. On 16 August 1917 at Langemarck, Belgium, enemy machine guns from a concrete blockhouse 250 yards (230 m) away were holding up the advance of the battalion on the left and also causing heavy casualties to Sergeant Cooper's own battalion. With four men he rushed towards the blockhouse, but although they fired at the garrison at very close range (100 yards) the machine-guns were not silenced, so Sergeant Cooper ran straight at them and fired his revolver into an opening in blockhouse. The machine-guns ceased firing and the garrison surrendered. Seven machine-guns and 45 prisoners were captured. He later achieved the rank of Major. His medal is on display at Preston Hall Museum in Stockton. The attached account of their 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: 27 November 1917 and 1 January 1918.

Article with annotations. || John Kendrick Skinner VC, DCM (5 February 1883 – 17 March 1918) was a Scottish 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 34 years old, and an acting company Sergeant Major in the 1st Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers, British Army during the First World War and who exhibited most conspicuous bravery and good leading during the Battle of Passchendaele on 18 August 1917 at Wijdendrift, Belgium, for which he received the Victoria Cross. His citation reads: For most conspicuous bravery and good leading. Whilst his company was attacking, machine gun fire opened on the left flank, delaying the advance. Although C.S.M. Skinner was wounded in the head, he collected six men, and with great courage and determination worked round the left flank of three blockhouses from which the machine gun fire was coming, and succeeded in bombing and taking the first blockhouse single-handed; then, leading his six men towards the other two blockhouses, he skilfully cleared them, taking sixty prisoners, three machine guns, and two trench mortars. The dash and gallantry displayed by this warrant officer enabled the objective to be reached and consolidated.William Henry Grimbaldeston VC (19 September 1889 – 13 August 1959) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross and 27 years old, an Acting Company Quartermaster-Sergeant in the 1st Battalion, The King's Own Scottish Borderers, British Army at the Battle of Passchendaele during the First World War when he performed a deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 16 August 1917 at Wijdendrift, Belgium, Company Quartermaster-Sergeant Grimbaldeston noticed that the unit on his left was held up by enemy machine-gun fire from a blockhouse. Arming himself with a rifle and hand grenade he started to crawl towards his objective, and when he had advanced about 100 yards another soldier came forward to give covering support. Although wounded, he pushed on to the blockhouse, threatened the machine-gun teams inside with a hand grenade and forced them to surrender. This action resulted in the capture of 36 prisoners, six machine-guns and one trench mortar. He was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre. The attached account of their 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: 22 November 1917 and 1 January 1918.

Article with annotations. || Edward Barber VC (10 June 1893 – 12 March 1915) 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 21 years old, and a Private in the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British Army during the First World War, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 12 March 1915 at Neuve Chapelle, France, which led to his death. Citation For most conspicuous bravery on 12th March, 1915, at Neuve Chapelle. He ran speedily in front of the grenade company to which he belonged, and threw bombs on the enemy with such effect that a very great number of them at once surrendered. When the grenade party reached Pte. Barber they found him quite alone and unsupported, with the enemy surrendering all about him. —The London Gazette, 19 April 1915 His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Grenadier Guards RHQ), Wellington Barracks, London. Wilfred Dolby Fuller VC (28 July 1893 – 22 November 1947) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross. On 12th March Lance-Corporal Fuller saw a party of the enemy trying to escape along a communication trench. He ran towards them and killed the leading man with a bomb; the remainder (nearly 50) seeing no means of evading his bombs, all surrendered to him. Lance-Corporal Fuller was quite alone at the time. He received his Victoria Cross from King George V at Buckingham Palace on 4 June 1915. In September of the same year, at the express wish of the Tsar of Russia, he was also decorated by the King at Sheffield with the Russian Cross of the Order of Saint George, 3rd Class. The attached account of their 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: 2 March 1918.