Second British Boer War Victoria Cross Recipient. He was born one of three children to Sergeant James Harland Atkinson who served as a Shoeing Smith in the Royal Artillery and his wife Margaret Mansfield Atkinson in Armley, Leeds, England. His father was born in about 1830 in Kirkby Malzeard, Yorkshire, England, and his mother was born in about 1833 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, and they were married on June 4, 1855. He was born into the union in Armley, Leeds, England, and his sister Emily in Armley, Leeds, England, in 1876, and finally his brother Leonard in Armley, Leeds, England, in 1878. He was educated locally and he married Florence Upton Atkinson at Calverley, St. Wilfrid, Yorkshire, England, on December 21, 1895, and the couple would have one child together, a daughter, Eva Doris Atkinson (1898-1988). He later went into the military and served with the rank of Sergeant in the 1st Battalion, The Princes of Wales Own (Yorkshire Regiment), Green Howards, British Army. He fought at the Siege of Kimberley in Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa, which took place during the Second Boer War on October 14, 1899, when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers shelled the town with their superior artillery in an attempt to force the garrison to capitulate. He then fought in the Battle of Paardeberg (or Perdeberg), on Paardeberg Drift on the Banks of the Modder River in Paardeberg, Orange Free State, South Africa, beginning February 18, 1900. During the intense fighting in the Battle of Paardeberg (or Perdeberg), in Paardeberg, South Africa, he went out on his own accord to retrieve water for the seriously wounded. On his seventh trip out to get water for the wounded, he was shot in the head. He was seriously wounded he passed away three days later from his injuries on February 21, 1900, at the age of 26. He was buried in the Gruisbank British Cemetery in Paardeberg, South Africa, where other famous military personalities including Lieutenant Gideon James Grieve and Colour Sergeant William Wallace are also laid to rest. For his extraordinary heroism, he was posthumously awarded the distinguished Victoria Cross Medal for Bravery, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth Forces. His Victoria Cross Medal Citation reads-No. 3264 Sergeant A. Atkinson, Yorkshire Regiment. During the Battle of Paardeburg, 18th February, 1900, Sergeant A. Atkinson, 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, went out seven-times, under heavy and close fire, to obtain water for the wounded. At the seventh attempt he was wounded in the head, and died a few days afterwards. His Victoria Cross Medal was received by his father Sergeant James Harland Atkinson on August 8, 1902. His Victoria Cross Medal is now displayed at the Green Howards Museum, in Richmond, Yorkshire, England.