William Beesley
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William Beesley
William Beesley VC (5 October 1895 – 23 September 1966) 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. Life Beesley was 22 years old, and a private in the 13th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 8 May 1918 at Bucquoy, France, when Private Beesley's platoon sergeant and all the section commanders were killed he took command. Single-handed he rushed a post, shot four of the enemy, took six prisoners and sent them back to his lines. He and a comrade then brought his Lewis gun into action, inflicting many casualties and holding their position for four hours until the second private was wounded. Private Beesley, by himself, maintained his position until nightfall, when he returned to the original line with the wounded man ...
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Church Gresley
Church Gresley is a large village and former civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The village is situated between Castle Gresley and the town of Swadlincote, with which it is contiguous. By the time of the 2011 Census the village was a ward of Swadlincote, of which it is now effectively a suburb, and the population of Church Gresley ward was 6,881. The village forms part of the border with Leicestershire to the southeast. Nearby villages include Castle Gresley, Albert Village, Linton and Overseal. History ''Gresele'' is recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' . Its first element is of uncertain origin, possibly the Old English ''grēosn'' meaning gravel and ''lēah'' meaning a woodland clearing. ''Churchegreseleye'' was first recorded in 1363 and distinguishes it from Castle Gresley. Priory and church '' See also Gresley Priory'' A priory of Augustinian canons was founded at Gresley in the reign of Henry I, by William de Gresley, son of Nigel de ...
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England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its name from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The English language, the Anglican Church, and Engli ...
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VCs Of The First World War - Spring Offensive 1918
''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the List of First World War Victoria Cross recipients, Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War. The series consists of 13 books written by four different authors, first published under the label Sutton Publishing Limited, part of The History Press. A new paperback edition of the series was commissioned in 2010 under The History Press imprint. Books Gerald Gliddon Gerald Gliddon wrote eight of the books and has therefore written the majority of the series: *''VCs of the First World War: 1914'' *''VCs of the First World War: The Somme 1916'' *''VCs of the First World War: Arras & Messines 1917'' *''VCs of the First World War: Cambrai 1917'' *''VCs of the First World War: Spring Offensive 1918'' *''VCs of the First World War: The Road to Victory 1918'' *''VCs of the First World War: The Final Days 1918'' covers the end of the First World War with the telling of the Battle of the Canal du Nord by seven Victoria Cros ...
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The Register Of The Victoria Cross
''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the following details where applicable or available – rank, unit, other decorations, date of gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspaper ..., place/date of birth, place/date of death, memorials, town/county connections, and any remarks. The book was first published by the quarterly magazine, '' This England'' in 1981, a revised and enlarged edition in 1988 and a third edition in 1997. There is no editor noted on the cover page or the title page but Nora Buzzell is acknowledged in all three edition specially in the 1988 and 1997 edition ...
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Monuments To Courage
David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 36 years to complete. Biography Harvey was born in East Ham, London, the son of a grocer, and worked as a salesman after he attended Hinchley Wood School in Surrey. He later joined the Metropolitan Police, where he started the mounted police magazine ''One One Ten'', before he moved to Denver, Colorado, to run an equestrian centre for over a decade. A chance meeting with Canon William Lummis led him to take over his life-work of researching and documenting the final resting places of all Victoria Cross recipients. This task took Harvey to 48 countries over the next four decades. However, an accident during a visit to the Somme in 1992 left Harvey in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life and he later had to have a leg amputated. ''Mo ...
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Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen, Hampshire, River Itchen. It is south-west of London and from Southampton, its nearest city. At the 2011 census, Winchester had a population of 45,184. The wider City of Winchester district, which includes towns such as New Alresford, Alresford and Bishop's Waltham, has a population of 116,595. Winchester is the county town of Hampshire and contains the head offices of Hampshire County Council. Winchester developed from the Roman Britain, Roman town of Venta Belgarum, which in turn developed from an Iron Age oppidum. Winchester was one of the most important cities in England until the Norman conquest of England, Norman conquest in the eleventh century. It has since become one of the most expensive and afflue ...
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Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum is situated at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester, England. The museum is one of several regimental museums that form part of Winchester's Military Museums. History The museum brings together the collections of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (which had been at Cowley Barracks); renamed 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) from 7 November 1958, the King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ... (which had been at Peninsula Barracks) and the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own), Rifle Brigade (which had also been at Peninsula Barracks). These regiments went on to form the Green Jackets Brigade in 1958 and the Royal Green Jackets, Royal Green Jackets Regiment in 1966. It was opened by Elizabeth II ...
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Sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. Its origin is the Latin , 'one who serves', through the French term . The term ''sergeant'' refers to a non-commissioned officer placed above the rank of a corporal, and a police officer immediately below a lieutenant in the US, and below an inspector in the UK. In most armies, the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of a squad (or section). In Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army, sergeant is a more junior rank corresponding to a squad- (12 person) or platoon- (36 person) leader. More senior non-commissioned ranks are often variations on sergeant, for example staff sergeant, gunn ...
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France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its Metropolitan France, metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin (island), ...
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Bucquoy
Bucquoy () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. The grounds, property of the Lords of Bucquoy, became a county in 1666 by request of Charles II. Geography A farming village located 12 miles (19 km) south of Arras on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8. Population Sights * The church of St. Pierre, rebuilt, like most of the village, after destruction during World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ..., * The ruins of a 13th-century château. * Queens Cemetery, for First World War allied casualtiesQueens Cemetery
Commonwealth Wa ...
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First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdina ...
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The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle Corps". In January 1803, they became an established regular regiment and were titled the 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles). In 1816, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, they were again renamed, this time as the "Rifle Brigade". The unit was distinguished by its use of green uniforms in place of the traditional redcoat as well as by being armed with the Baker rifle, which was the first British-made rifle accepted by the British Army in place of smooth-bore muskets. The 95th was the first regular infantry corps in the British Army to be so armed. They performed distinguished service in both the First and Second World Wars. Post war, in 1958 the regiment formed part of the Green Jackets Brigade as 3rd Green Jackets and was amalgamated with the ...
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