Frederick McNess VC (22 January 1892 – 4 May 1956) was an English born 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. McNess was 24 years old, and a Lance-Sergeant in the 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place during the Battle of the Somme at a German stronghold known to the British as The Quadrilateralfor which he was awarded the VC. Citation: On 15 September 1916 near Ginchy, France, during a period of severe fighting, Lance-Sergeant McNess led his men with great dash in the face of heavy shell and machine-gun fire. When the first line of the enemy trenches was reached, it was found that the left flank was exposed and that the enemy were bombing down the trench. Sergeant McNess thereupon organised and led a counter-attack and although he was very severely wounded in the neck and jaw, did not give up. Finally he established a lock and continued encouraging his men and throwing bombs until exhausted by loss of blood. He later achieved the rank of Sergeant. His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Scots Guards RHQ), Wellington Barracks, London, 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: 18 April 1918. || Article with annotations.

Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg VC GCMG KCB KBE DSO*** KStJ (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963), , Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment, was awarded the V.C. for bravery at the village of Beaucourt, during the Battle of the Somme. Freyberg, a New Zealander, was in command of Hood Battalion, Royal Naval Division. Previously he had fought in the Mexican civil war, and earlier in the First World War he had been wounded at Antwerp, Belgium, and swum ashore during landing at Gallipoli when he was awarded the D.S.O.was a British-born New Zealand Victoria Cross recipient and soldier who later served as the seventh Governor-General of New Zealand. A veteran of the Mexican Revolution, he became an officer in the British Army during the First World War. Freyberg took part in the beach landings during the Gallipoli Campaign and was the youngest general in the British Army during the First World War, later serving on the Western Front where he was decorated with the Victoria Cross and three DSOs, making him one of the most highly decorated British Empire officers of the First World War. He liked to be in the thick of action — Churchill called him he Salamander due to his ability to pass through fire unharmed. 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: 28 March 1918 and URGENT. || Article with annotations.

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.