Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Drummond Borton (1 July 1883 – 5 January 1933) was an English recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Biography

Borton was born at

Cheveney Hunton is a civil parish and village near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. Toponomy The village's first recorded name was ''Huntindone'' in the eleventh century. Its name comes from Old English ''hunta'' 'huntsman' and ''dun'' 'hill' - ' ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

to British officer Arthur Close Borton, the eldest son of Sir

Arthur Borton Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Drummond Borton (1 July 1883 – 5 January 1933) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Biogra ...

and Adelaide Beatrice Drummond, a grandchild of

Robert Kaye Greville Dr. Robert Kaye Greville FRSE FLS LLD (13 December 1794 – 4 June 1866) was an English mycologist, bryologist, and botanist. He was an accomplished artist and illustrator of natural history. In addition to art and science he was interest ...

. Borton was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and Sandhurst, before being commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1902 with whom he served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. In 1908 he left the Army as unfit for general service. At the start of the First World War, Borton was fruit farming in the United States. He returned to England and re-joined The King's Royal Rifles in 1914. After further service with the regiment he became an observer with The Royal Flying Corps in France, where he broke his neck in three places when his aircraft crashed and was declared unfit. Despite this he went to Gallipoli as a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, where he won the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

serving with the RNAS Armoured Cars. Borton was appointed Second-in-Command of the 2nd/22nd London Regiment (The Queen's) in June 1916, serving in France and Palestine. He was a 34-year-old lieutenant colonel in the 2/22nd (County of London) Battalion, the London Regiment, British Army, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 7 November 1917 at Palestine, Borton deployed his battalion for attack and at dawn led his companies against a strongly held position. When the leading waves were checked by withering fire, he moved freely up and down the line under heavy fire and then led his men forward, capturing the position. At a later stage he led a party of volunteers against a battery of field-guns in action at point-blank range, capturing the guns and the detachments. His fearless leadership was an example to the whole brigade. He died on 5 January 1933 at

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...

in Suffolk, aged 49.Birmingham Daily Gazette, 6 January 1933. p. 1. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum,

Clandon Park Clandon Park House is an early 18th-century grade I listed Palladian mansion in West Clandon, near Guildford in Surrey. It stands in the south east corner of Clandon Park, a agricultural parkland estate which has been the seat of the Earls of ...

, Guildford, Surrey. Borton's younger brother was Air Vice Marshal

Amyas Borton Air Vice Marshal Amyas Eden Borton, (20 September 1886 – 15 August 1969) was a pilot and commander in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the 1920s. He saw active service on th ...

. He married Lorna Lockhart in 1915.

Honours and awards

References

Kent Fallen

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borton, Arthur 1883 births 1933 deaths Burials in Kent People from Hunton, Kent People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Navy officers British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I London Regiment officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Kent