World War I Victoria Cross Recipient. He received the award from British King George V at Buckingham Palace in London, England on May 15, 1919 for his actions as a lieutenant in The Bedfordshire Regiment of the British Army on October 24, 1918 near Bousiers, France at the Battle of the Selle, near the end of World War I. Born in Umballa, British India, the seventh of nine children, he received his primary education in England. Following the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, he joined the British Army and was sent to the Western Front in France the following November. He saw action at the First Battle of Ypres where he suffered frostbite and was evacuated to England in January 1915. In July 1915 he was commissioned as a lieutenant and following a year of training, he returned to France in September 1916 and participated in the Battle of Anere (November 1916) and the Battle of Arras (April 1917) where he was wounded, and he returned to England to recover. In September 1918 he returned to France for the third time and participated in the Battle of Epehy (September 1918), the Battle of the Selle (October 1918) and the Battle of Sambre (November 1918) where he was wounded again. He achieved the temporary rank of captain and in 1920 he was discharged from the British Army at the rank of lieutenant. In addition to the Victoria Cross, he also received the 1914 Star, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal (1914-1919), the King George VI Coronation Medal, and the Queen Victoria II Coronation Medal. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "For most conspicuous bravery and initiative during the operations north-east of Bousies on the 24th October, 1918. He led his company with great skill towards the final objective, maintaining direction under the most difficult conditions. When the advance was held up by machine-gun posts, accompanied by one Serjeant and followed at some considerable distance by a Lewis-gun section, he again advanced and displayed the greatest determination, capturing six machine guns and 14 prisoners. His gallantry and initiative enabled the whole line to advance, and tended largely to the success of subsequent operations." During World War II he became a Civil Defence Coordinator and Chairman of the Teddington Branch of the British Legion. Following the accidental death of his only son from drowning in 1941, he became severely depressed and an alcoholic, and sought treatment in the early 1950s. He committed suicide at his home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England at the age of 57. His Victoria Cross and other medals are on display at the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment Gallery in the Wardown Park Museum at Luton, Bedfordshire, England.