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Stewart Walter Loudoun-Shand
Major Stewart Walter Loudoun-Shand VC (8 October 1879 – 1 July 1916) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions during an attack near the French village of Fricourt on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. Early life Stewart Walter Shand was born on 8 October 1879 in Ceylon, and was one of ten children of John Shand, a tea planter, and his wife Lucy . Both his parents were originally from Scotland. The family, wealthy from trading in tea, later moved to South London. They lived in Dulwich, where all the boys of the family attended Dulwich College. Stewart excelled at sport, especially cricket. His brother, Eric, later represented Scotland in Rugby union. South Africa Shand was working at a bank when the Second Boer War broke out in South Africa in 1899. He volunteered for the Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
