World War I Victoria Cross Recipient. He received the award posthumously on September 26, 1916 for his actions as a lieutenant gunnery officer in the 7th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment of the British Army on July 5, 1916 in the 1st phase of the Battle of the Somme during World War I. Born near Bridgenorth, Shropshire, England, he attended Wellington College in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. In 1912 he emigrated with his family to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Following the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, he enlisted in the 16th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and after arriving in England, he was transferred to the 7th Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment as a gunnery officer and his unit was sent to the Western Front where he was killed in combat at the age of 22 during the early stage of the Battle of the Somme near La Boiselle, France. His body was never recovered. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "For most conspicuous bravery. During an attack, when a party of another unit was retiring without their machine-gun, Lieut. Wilkinson rushed forward, and, with two of his men, got the gun into action, and held up the enemy till they were relieved. Later, when the advance was checked during a bombing attack, he forced his way forward and found four or five men of different units stopped by a solid block of earth, over which the enemy was throwing bombs. With great pluck and promptness he mounted a machine-gun on the top of the parapet and dispersed the enemy bombers. Subsequently he made two most gallant attempts to bring in a wounded man, but at the second attempt he was shot through the heart just before reaching the man. Throughout the day he set a magnificent example of courage and self-sacrifice." His Victoria Cross and other medals (1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal (1914-19)) are on display at the Lord Ashcroft Gallery of the British Imperial War Museum in London, England.