World War I Victoria Cross Recipient. He received the award from British King George V in February 1918 at Buckingham Palace in London, England for his actions as a private in the 12th (S) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps, of the British Army on November 20, 1917 at Villers Plouich, France during the Battle of Cambrai in World War I. Born in Royston, Yorkshire, England, he attended Royston West Riding School and worked as a pony driver at a coal mine for three years. In August 1915, a year after the outbreak of World War I, he joined the King's Royal Rifle Corps of the British Army and was sent to the Western Front in France. Following the Battle of Cambrai, he was promoted to the rank of lance corporal in August 1918 and to the rank of acting corporal a month later. In 1919 he was discharged from the British Army and returned to his home in Royston where he died at the age of 69. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "No. R/15089 Rflmn. Albert Edward Shepherd, K.R.R.C. (Barnsley). For most conspicuous bravery as a company runner. When his company was held up by a machine gun at point blank range he volunteered to rush the gun, and, though ordered not to, rushed forward and threw a Mills bomb, killing two gunners and capturing the gun. The company, on continuing its advance, came under heavy enfilade machine gun fire. When the last officer and the last non-commissioned officer had become casualties, he took command of the company, ordered the men to lie down, and himself went back some seventy yards under severe fire to obtain the help of a tank. He then returned to his company, and finally led them to their last objective. He showed throughout conspicuous determination and resource." In addition to the Victoria Cross, he also received the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal (1914-20) and the Victory Medal (1914-19). His Victoria Cross and other medals are on display at the Royal Green Jackets Museum in Winchester, Hampshire, England.