Victoria Cross Noticeboard.VC for Iraq Elsewhere in this issue is the full story of the award of the Victoria Cross to British Army The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with unification of the governments and armed forces of England and Scotland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. Private Johnston Gideon Beharry. Victoria Cross Noticeboard noticeboard notice (Brit) n → Anschlagbrett nt had mentioned in the June 2004 column that a soldier from the Princess of Wales Noun 1. Princess of Wales - English aristocrat who was the first wife of Prince Charles; her death in an automobile accident in Paris produced intense national mourning (1961-1997) Diana, Lady Diana Frances Spencer, Princess Diana Royal Regiment had been recommended for the Victoria Cross and in the December 2004 column had named Beharry as the soldier recommended. Beharry is the 24th Victoria Cross recipient decorated for gallantry in Iraq which was formerly known as Mesopotamia. During the First World War 22 awards were gazetted between 1915 and 1917; three to the Royal Navy, 13 to the British Army and six to the Indian Army. One award to the British Army was gazetted in 1920 to Captain George Smart Henderson DSO See CSO. (and bar) MC of the 2nd Battalion, Manchester Regiment. On 24 July 1920 near Hillah, Mesopotamia, Captain Henderson led his company in three charges against the enemy who had opened fire from the flank. At one time when the situation was extremely critical, the captain, by sheer pluck and coolness, steadied his command and prevented his company from being cut up. During the second charge he fell wounded but refused to leave his command and just as the company reached the trench, he was again wounded, this time mortally. The longest periods between VC gazettals are: 22 1/2 years 1982-2005 Falklands to Iraq 14 years 1921-1935 NW Frontier to NW Frontier 13 years 1969-1982 Vietnam to Falklands 12 1/2 years 1953-1966 Korea to Confrontation 9 years 1905-1914 Tibet to First World War The longest sequence of VC gazettals in successive years 9 years 1857-1865 and 1897-1905 8 years 1878-1885 and 1914-1921 7 years 1940-1946 VCs were gazetted in 36 of the 49 years between 1857 and 1905 VCs were gazetted in 24 of the 100 years between 1906 and 2005 Norman Douglas Holbrook Norman Douglas Holbrook VC (born 9 July 1888 Southsea, Hampshire; died Midhurst, Sussex 3 July 1976) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. VC Norman Douglas Holbrook VC RN who is commemorated in Australia by the town of Holbrook New South Wales New South Wales, state (1991 pop. 5,164,549), 309,443 sq mi (801,457 sq km), SE Australia. It is bounded on the E by the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is the capital. The other principal urban centers are Newcastle, Wagga Wagga, Lismore, Wollongong, and Broken Hill. that was named after him in 1915 has been commemorated in England. English Heritage has erected a blue plaque on 'Warleigh' 18 Grove Road South, Southsea. (The house is now part of St John's College). The plaque faces the road and reads: ENGLISH HERITAGE LIEUTENANT NORMAN HOLBROOK VC SUBMARINE HERO OF THE DARDANELLES GREW UP HERE The house where he was born would have been nearby but has long since gone. VC Paintings now online Paintings commissioned during the Second World War to commemorate outstanding acts of bravery are to be put on public display for the first time. More than 50 art works celebrating the heroism of Victoria Cross and George Cross recipients The George Cross is the most prestigious award granted to British citizens (and citizens of certain commonwealth counties) for actions of heroism not involving direct enemy action, for which the Victoria Cross is usually awarded. were placed on the British National Archive's website to mark today's 60th anniversary of VE Day. Some of the paintings celebrate the heroism of civilians awarded the George Cross for risking their lives on the home front. The Victoria Cross pictures were all published in a 1943 Ministry of Information booklet but the George Cross pictures appear here for the first time. The website is: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/artwar Australian VC recipients online are: * Corporal J.H Edmondson * Wing Commander H.I Edwards * Corporal J.A. French * Private J.H Gordon * Private A.S. Gurney gurney /gur·ney/ (gur´ne) a wheeled cot used in hospitals. gur·ney n. pl. gur·neys A metal stretcher with wheeled legs, used for transporting patients. * Sergeant. W.H. Kibby * Private. B.S. Kingsbury Obituary--Richard Arthur Samuel Bywater GC GM Arthur Bywater died on Tuesday 6 April 2005 aged 91. During the Second World War, he was the development officer at the Royal Ordnance factory “Royal Ordnance Factories” redirects here. For the football club, see Royal Ordnance Factories F.C.. Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories in and after World War II. at Kirkby, near Liverpool. Ten thousand workers were engaged in manufacturing, among other munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. , 150,000 anti-tank mine fuses each week. The fuses had a sensitive mechanism and an unusually powerful explosive charge. At 8.20 on 22 February 1944, a fuse exploded detonating det·o·nate intr. & tr.v. det·o·nat·ed, det·o·nat·ing, det·o·nates To explode or cause to explode. [Latin d 24 others in the same tray. The woman operator was blown to pieces, and two others were injured, one fatally. The roof was torn off the building, which housed 12,000 fuses in all. Bywater quickly arranged for an orderly evacuation and then led a team of three volunteers to examine the fuses, dispose of any found to be defective and move the rest to safety. The team set to work at once, and by 5 pm on the second day 4,000 fuses with faulty strikers, which could easily result in premature detonation, had been identified and moved to a specially prepared disposal area several kilometres away. Bywater found 23 fuses in a critically sensitive state. He carried each of these fuses out of the building and destroyed them individually with a controlled explosion in a nearby sandbagged The word sandbagged is a colloquial expression used to describe a situation in which one is publicly rejected or corrected in the presence of peers, often causing embarrassment. pit. For his heroic leadership and disregard for personal safety he was awarded the George Cross. Seven months later, another explosion occurred at the same factory, causing much greater damage than the February disaster. Bywater again displayed courage and coolness in guiding dazed daze tr.v. dazed, daz·ing, daz·es 1. To stun, as with a heavy blow or shock; stupefy. 2. To dazzle, as with strong light. n. A stunned or bewildered condition. workers to safety and organising measures to avoid further casualties or damage by subsequent explosions. He was awarded the George Medal and to this day is the only civilian ever to have been awarded both the George Cross and the George Medal. Richard Arthur Samuel Bywater was born in Birmingham on 3 November 1913 and was educated at Kings Norton Grammar School and Birmingham University. He married Patricia Fernyhough in 1947 and they immigrated to Australia in 1954 joining Mulwala Explosives Factory and later St Mary's Explosives Factory as assistant manager. He moved to Melbourne as general manager of the note printing branch of the Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 to operate as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. The bank offers banking services to the Federal Government, and to licensed banks that participate in the payments system. . Bywater retired in 1976 first to Cobram in Victoria and then to Scone Scone (sk  n), village, Perth and Kinross, central Scotland. Old Scone, west of the modern village of New Scone, was the repository of the Coronation Stone (see under coronation) and the in New South Wales. He is survived by his wife, a son
and a daughter.
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