World War II Victoria Cross Recipient. He received the award from British King George VI in February 1945 at Buckingham Palace in London, England for his actions as an acting sergeant in the 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry, British Army on October 16, 1944 near Overloon, the Netherlands during World War II. Born in Congleton, Cheshire, England, he enlisted in the British Army in March 1940 and was assigned to Guildford to join the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surreys). He following December he was promoted to the rank of acting corporal and transferred to the 4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry in July 1944 and sent to the European Theater of Operations where he won the Victoria Cross for gallantry three months later. Following the war, he returned to his home in Congleton where he died at the age of 79. In addition to the Victoria Cross, he received the Military Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939-1945, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, and the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "No. 6092111 Private (acting Sergeant) George Harold Eardley, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry (Congleton, Cheshire). In North-West Europe, on 16th October, 1944, during an attack on the wooded area East of Overloon, strong opposition was met from well sited defensive positions in orchards. The enemy were paratroops and well equipped with machine guns. A Platoon of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry was ordered to clear these orchards and so restore the momentum of the advance, but was halted some 80 yards from its objective by automatic fire from enemy machine gun posts. This fire was so heavy that it appeared impossible for any man to expose himself and remain unscathed. Notwithstanding this, Sergeant Eardley, who had spotted one machine gun post, moved forward, firing his Sten gun, and killed the occupants of the post with a grenade. A second machine gun post beyond the first immediately opened up, spraying the area with fire. Sergeant Eardley, who was in a most exposed position, at once charged over 30 yards of open ground and silenced both the enemy gunners. The attack was continued by the Platoon but was again held up by a third machine gun post, and a section sent in to dispose of it, was beaten back, losing four casualties. Sergeant Eardley, ordering the section he was with to lie down, then crawled forward alone and silenced the occupants of the post with a grenade. The destruction of these three machine gun posts singlehanded by Sergeant Eardley, carried out under fire so heavy that it daunted those who were with him, enabled his Platoon to achieve its objective, and in so doing, ensured the success of the whole attack. His outstanding initiative and magnificent bravery were the admiration of all who saw his gallant actions." His Victoria Cross and other medals are on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the British Imperial War Museum in London, England. A replica of his medals are on display at the Shropshire Regimental Museum in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. In 2004 a statue in his honor was erected in the Community Garden at Congleton.