Arthur Vickers was born at 7 Court, Woodcote Street, Ashton, Birmingham, on 2 February 1882, the son of John, a tube caster, and Amy Vickers. He joined the Royal Warwickshire Regt on 29 May 1902, two days before the end of the South African War, and served with the regiment for six years. After leaving the Army he worked for GEC at Whitton. Vickers re-enlisted in his old regiment a few days after war was declared in August 1914. After winning the VC he was promoted to lance-corporal and while on leave in December visited his old school in Dartmouth Street where he received a hero’s welcome from both staff and pupils. Vickers was decorated by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 5 March 1916. At the time he was living with his sister, Mrs Amy Atkins, in Park Road, Aston. During his leave in 1916 he was presented with a framed illuminated address by the then Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Alderman Neville Chamberlain. Vickers was later promoted to the rank of sergeant.
After the war Vickers attended the garden party for VC recipients at Buckingham Palace on 26 June 1920. He was married at the Church of SS Peter and Paul, Ashton, on 29 April 1922, he and his wife setting up home in Farm Street, Hockley, Birmingham, shortly afterwards. He was present at the unveiling of the War Memorial at St Mary’s Church, Warwick, in September 1924, and attended the British Legion VC dinner at the House of Lords on 9 November 1929. From 1935 he was employed as a millwright’s mate at Messrs Lucas Ltd. He died at the City Hospital, West Heath, on 27 July 1944 aged 62 years and 5 months. His funeral was arranged by the Birmingham Citizens’ Society.
H. WELLS
Near Le Rutoire, France, 25 September
On the left of the 1st Northants, the 2nd Bn, Royal Sussex Regt, was also in support, positioned directly behind the 1st Loyal North Lancs and the 2nd KRRC who were in the advanced jumping-off trenches. They were close to Le Rutoire Farm (see map on page 187), which was used as 2nd Bde HQ during the early part of the Battle of Loos. Once the attack had started the 2/Royal Sussex were to move forward and occupy the trenches vacated by the 1st Loyal North Lancs and the 2nd KRRC, and prepare to go forward in support of the assault. The advance battalions launched their attack at 06.34 hours and the Royal Sussex duly moved forward. The Battalion War Diary noted that because of the smoke and gas drifting back to the front trenches and the resulting confusion, the ‘Company Commanders then on their own initiative at once advanced and pushed on the assault, the Bn thus becoming part of the Assaulting Line at a very early stage of the attack’. The battalion pushed the advance ahead, only to discover, as others had, that the German wire was uncut. The Battalion War Diary states that at this point ‘all our officers and men who had reached or got close to the wire were either killed or wounded’.
It was at this juncture that No. 8088 Sgt H. Wells displayed great courage, taking command of his men after his platoon officer was killed, and leading them forward to within 15 yards of the enemy’s wire. Nearly half of his platoon had become casualties by then and the survivors were badly shaken, but, as the citation stated, ‘with the utmost coolness and bravery Sgt Wells rallied them and led them forward’. After that, only a very few men remained but Wells, standing up, urged them to attack again and was killed in the act of exhorting his men to go forward to the assault. This ‘magnificent display of courage and determination’, as the citation puts it, earned Sgt Wells a posthumous VC, which was gazetted on 18 November 1915. The conditions that the 2nd Royal Sussex faced was graphically illustrated by Maj. F.W.B. Willett, Royal Sussex Regt, who was present at the action and who wrote on 14 October 1919: ‘Owing to the wire being entirely uncut, the assault failed, the battalion losing 19 officers and nearly 600 men in less than 15 minutes … Sergt Wells … three times rallied his men and led them against the wire under close and continuous machine-gun fire. During the third attempt Sergt. Wells and practically all the survivors of his platoon were killed.’
Harry Wells was born on 19 September 1888 at Hole Cottage, Millbank, Kent. He went to school at Loath, leaving at the age of 12 to work on a farm at Ridgeway, Herne. During this time he lost two fingers of his right hand in an accident with a haymaking machine. He later worked for Mrs Wootton at Herne Mill and lived with his widowed mother at Herne. Wells was a tall youth, over 6 feet tall at the age of 16, and joined the Army in 1904, serving for six and a half years with the Royal Sussex Regt. He left the Army in 1911 and in November of that year he became a police constable in the Ashford Division. He resigned on 31 December 1913. While in the police force he lived at the Beaver Inn, Ashford, and it seems he may have been employed there after his resignation.
When war came in August 1914 Wells was recalled to the Army, and rejoined the Royal Sussex Regt. His previous military experience helped him rise quickly to the rank of sergeant and he went to France with the BEF, seeing action early on in the war. He lost his life on Sunday 25 September 1915 in the Battle of Loos.
His VC was presented to his mother at Buckingham Palace on 27 November 1916. Wells is commemorated on the War Memorial at Herne and the Royal Sussex Regt Memorial in Chichester Cathedral. He is buried at Dud Corner Cemetery in Plot V, Row E, Grave 2. His medals are held by the Royal Sussex Regiment Museum.
H.E. KENNY
Near Loos, France, 25 September
The 1st Bn, Loyal North Lancashire Regt (2nd Bde, 1st Div.) moved into trenches opposite Hulluch in preparation for their part in the Battle of Loos, spending 24 September resting and cleaning up before taking up battle positions at 21.45 hours. The battalion advanced at zero hour, but having reached the German wire they found it uncut and fell back to their starting point. The casualties among the Loyal Lancs men was horrific, as indeed they were for most of the attacking battalions on the first day at Loos; they lost 16 officers and 489 other ranks, 55 of whom were seriously affected by their own gas drifting back to their positions. On six different occasions during the day No. 8655 Pte Henry Kenny went forward, despite being under heavy shell, rifle and machine-gun fire, and each time carried in a wounded man who had been lying out in the open. While handing the last man over the parapet Kenny himself was wounded in the neck, which caused him to be invalided home. His VC was not gazetted until 30 March 1916.
Henry Edward Kenny was born in Hackney, London, on 27 July 1888, his parents having come to England from County Limerick, Ireland. He enlisted in the Loyal North Lancs Regt in October 1906, becoming a reservist in 1911. When war broke out he was recalled to the colours, being at that time employed by Messrs Abdulla, cigarette manufacturers, in London. Kenny went overseas with the original BEF and was at Mons, the Retreat, the Marne and the Aisne, and in October 1914 took part in the defence of Ypres.
He was at Festubert in December 1914, coming out of the line to rest over Christmas before returning to the front to take part in the fighting at La Bassée, Neuve Chapelle and finally Loos, where he won his VC on the first day of the battle. The neck wound he received in performing his act of valour was severe enough to have him sent to the Duchess of Westminster’s hospital at Le Touquet and afterwards to Lady Astor’s hospital at Taplow. He rejoined his unit before Christmas 1915, serving throughout the rest of the campaign. He was decorated by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 20 May 1916. After being demobilized from the Army in 1919 he returned to employment, his new employer being Spencer Press Ltd, 45 Great Eastern Street, London, a subsidiary of Abdulla Ltd.
He attended the VC garden party given at Buckingham Palace by King George V on 26 June 1920, being also at the opening of the Cenotaph on 11 November that year. On 9 November 1929 he went to the British Legion Dinner for VC winners given in the Royal Gallery at the House of Lords, being flanked at table by Pte S. Harvey of the York and Lancaster Regt, and Capt. Batten Pooll, with whom he chatted about their part in the Zeebrugge raid on St George’s Day 1918.
During the Second World War Kenny served in the Local Defence Volunteers, the forerunner of the Home Guard, challenging the King when he came to inspect some 2,000 LDV men at their headquarters at Woodford, Essex. Kenny was later formally introduced to the Kin
g who recalled meeting Kenny at the Hackney Empire in 1920 when, as Duke of York, he paid a visit to a special performance for a discharged soldiers’ organization. After the war Henry Kenny took part in the Victory Parade and the subsequent Dinner on 8 June 1946, and returned ten years later for the VC Centenary Review on 26 June 1956 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. He attended only the first two VC and GC dinners, given on 24 July 1958 and 7 July 1960. He died in St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, Surrey, on 6 May 1979, aged 90 years and 9 months, and was buried on 15 May in St John’s Cemetery, Woking, Surrey. His VC is now part of the Lord Ashcroft VC Collection.
F.H. JOHNSON
Hill 70, France, 25 September
The 73rd Field Coy, Royal Engineers (RE), was based at Noeux-les-Mines throughout August but moved to Mazingarbe in September in preparation for the Battle of Loos. When the battle opened with the release of chlorine gas and smoke on 25 September, the 73rd Field Coy was attached to the 44th Bde. The RE men were there to help the infantry dig in and consolidate the positions as they were taken, though the 73rd Field Coy’s War Diary notes that ‘the Company acted as Infantry practically the whole time’. 2/Lt Johnson, with his No. 3 Section, 73 Field Coy RE were with No. 4 Section behind the 10th Gordon Highlanders, waiting to move forward shortly after the main assault once Nos 1 and 2 Sections had followed the Black Watch and Seaforth Highlanders respectively into the attack. During the wait No. 4 Section was ordered to bridge a trench over the Lens road; while this operation was being carried out their officer, Lt Nolan, and ten NCOs and men became casualties. Capt. Cardew then took command, ordering Johnson’s No. 3 Section and the survivors of No. 4 Section to advance behind the 10th Gordons to a point between Loos Towers and the Windmill (see map on page 187). At Loos the officer commanding the Gordons ordered Capt. Cardew to advance to Hill 70.
The RE men reached the crest of the hill at about 09.30 hours, from where they could see the hard-pressed infantry in the Hill 70 Redoubt; the RE men joined them in an effort to hold the strongpoint but all were forced to retire because of German machine-gun fire. They went back behind the ridge to dig in but after Capt. Cardew and 2/Lt Johnson ‘found’ a machine-gun and moved it into position, Cardew decided to have another go at the redoubt. The officers advanced with RE men only and Capt. Cardew and Lt Johnson and about ten men got into the strongpoint but were forced out again. At this moment Capt. Cardew was seriously hurt and 2/Lt Johnson was wounded in the leg. Nevertheless, Johnson stuck to his duty, leading several efforts to retake the German redoubt and constantly rallying the men near him while under heavy fire. He remained at his post until midnight when he was finally relieved. The War Diary of the 73rd Field Coy makes special mention of 2/Lt Johnson ‘who, although wounded, carried on until midnight, rallied his men and the parties of infantry without officers, and showed great coolness and gallantry’. He was awarded the VC for his courageous example, the award being gazetted on 18 November 1915.
Frederick Henry Johnson was born on 15 August 1890 at 13 Dedfor Row (now High Road), Streatham, London. He was the son of Samuel Roger Johnson and Emily, daughter of Henry White of Ewell. He attended Middle Whitgift School, Croydon, and St Dunstan’s College, Catford, and was a day scholar at Battersea Polytechnic.
Academically he was very bright, being a Whitworth Exhibitioner and obtaining a BSc (Hons) Engineering degree at London University. Johnson joined the London University OTC in August 1914, and soon after was commissioned 2/Lt in the 73rd Field Coy RE. After winning the VC at Hill 70 he was made lieutenant and in May 1916 was given a tumultuous reception when he visited Battersea Polytechnic while on leave. He won quick promotion, becoming captain in 1916 and major a few months before he was reported killed in action on 11 December 1917, having died of wounds on 26 November in France. His name appears on the Cambrai Memorial and his VC was secured for £9,000 in March 1989 by the then Minister for Trade, MP Alan Clark.
A.F. DOUGLAS-HAMILTON
Hill 70, France, 25/26 September
The 15th Div. was to attack on a 1,500 yard frontage astride the Béthune–Lens and the Vermelles–Loos Road redoubts on 25 September. After capturing the redoubts and Loos village itself they were to carry on to Hill 70 (see map on page 187).
As the battle progressed, the fighting in Loos pulled in men of the 44th and 46th Bdes from their initial direction, and at the eastern end of Loos village a mass of intermingled Scottish units began the ascent of Hill 70 shortly after 08.00 hours on 25 September. (They were described in the Official History as having ‘the appearance of a bank holiday crowd’.) The Germans could be seen running away, making the Scotsmen even more eager to pursue. About 900 Scots passed over the Hill and moved on down the bare and exposed slope, most of them moving southwards towards the houses of Cité St Laurent where the Germans were getting into position. The Scots were within 300 yards of the German second position when enfilade machine-gun fire and rifle fire from ahead brought them to a halt. Their position was utterly exposed and so, rather than lie down and be shot, they pushed forward in short rushes, only to discover uncut German wire hidden in long grass. Their situation was hopeless. The 45th Bde, 15th Div.’s reserve, had moved up to the old British front line to support the intended attack on Cité St Auguste. Soon urgent requests came in from 46th Bde for support on the brigade’s left, near Puits 14, where their left flank was exposed by the failure of the 1st Div. to advance on its left. Soon 100 bombers and a platoon of the 6th Cameron Highlanders under Maj. (Temp. Lt-Col.) A.F. Douglas-Hamilton were sent forward, to be followed later by the whole battalion. They set up a defensive flank from the north-west corner of Chalet Wood to Chalk Pit Wood. On the 26th the 6th Camerons, who had been forced out of Chalet Wood by the Germans, made repeated attempts to retake the western end of the wood and desperate hand-to-hand fighting took place against detachments from the 106th Reserve, 153rd and 178th Regts. When the battalions on his flanks retired Douglas-Hamilton rallied his men and led them forward to the assault four times. The fourth attack, with just 50 men remaining, was a gallant but hopeless gesture. Douglas-Hamilton fell at the head of his men; the small party was annihilated and the wood lost. Douglas-Hamilton was awarded a posthumous VC, and the citation ended: ‘It was mainly due to his bravery, his untiring energy, and splendid leadership that the line at this point was enabled to check the enemy’s advance.’ Douglas-Hamilton was one of the oldest soldiers to die at Loos, being killed at the age of 52 years and 1 month.
Angus Falconer Douglas-Hamilton was born at Brighton on 20 August 1863, the youngest son of Maj.-Gen. Octavius Douglas-Hamilton and Katherine, daughter of Capt. D. Macleod CB, RN. His education was undertaken at Foster’s Naval Preparatory School, then privately by Army tutors and finally at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He joined the Army on 23 August 1884, being commissioned as a lieutenant in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. He served with the 1st Bn during the latter part of the Nile Expedition, receiving the Medal with Clasp and Khedive’s Star, and throughout the operations of the Sudan Frontier Field Force, 1885–6, being present at Koshesh during its investment and at the engagement at Ginniss. He was promoted to captain on 7 December 1892 and from 1 February 1894 to 30 April 1899 he was adjutant of the 6th Gordon Highlanders. He married on 1 August 1894 at the Episcopalian Church, Highfield, Muir of Ord, Ross-shire, his wife being Anna Watson, the younger daughter of Capt. Alexander Watson Mackenzie, of Ord, Muir of Ord. They had one daughter, Camilla Beatrice. He vacated his position with the Gordon Highlanders and rejoined his regiment, serving with the 2nd Bn in Gibraltar, Malta, South Africa, North China and India, being promoted to major on 7 December 1901. He retired on 24 August 1912 but on the outbreak of the First World War was recalled from the Reserve and appointed as a transport officer on the Embarkation Staff at Southampton. On 1 October 1914 he was made temporary lieutenant-colonel and was given command of the 6th (Service) Bn, Cameron Highlanders. He won his VC on 25/26 September 1915, close to Hill 70 during the Battle of Loos, his award being gazette
d on 18 November 1915. King George V handed the medal to Douglas-Hamilton’s widow at an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 29 November 1916. Later Mrs Douglas-Hamilton was presented with a bronze statue of a Cameron Highlander by former 1914–18 prisoners of war as a token of their appreciation of her work on their behalf. Lt-Col. Douglas-Hamilton was also awarded the 1914–15 Star, and the British War and Victory medals. His widow died at Forest Hill, Muir of Ord, on 15 February 1945, willing her husband’s medals to their only daughter for her lifetime. In April 1965 his VC and other medals, together with the Honour Plaque, were donated to the Regimental Museum of the Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), Fort George, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Lt-Col. A.F. Douglas-Hamilton is commemorated on the Loos Memorial in France.
VCs of the First World War 1915 The Western Front Page 20
