Major Arthur James Terence Fleming-Sandes (24 June 1894 – 24 May 1961) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces.

Early life

Fleming-Sandes was born at Northstead Road, Tulse Hill Park, London on 24 June 1894 the son of Alfred Fleming-Sandes."Mr. A. J. T. Flemingsandes, V.C." Times ondon, England26 May 1961: 17. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 10 May 2013. He was educated at Dulwich College Preparatory School and at

King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

. The day after the start of the First World War he enlisted as a private in the Artists Rifles and was on active duty in France from October 1914. On 9 May 1915 he was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in

The East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ( ...

Victoria Cross

Fleming-Sandes was 21 years old, and a temporary second lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

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 fightin ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 29 September 1915 at the

Hohenzollern Redoubt The Hohenzollern Redoubt () was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, Second Lieutenant Fleming-Sandes was sent to command a company which was in a very critical position. His men, very much shaken by continual bombing and machine-gun fire, were beginning to retire, but the second lieutenant collected a few bombs and jumping on the parapet in full view of the Germans, only away, threw them. Although severely wounded almost at once, he continued to advance and throw bombs until he was again wounded. This act put new heart into his men and saved the situation. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum, Clandon Park, Surrey.

Later life

Fleming-Sandes left the Army as a lieutenant at the end of the war and in 1919 he joined the educational department of the Sudan government. In 1924 he moved to the political department and in 1931 he was awarded the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

. In 1935 he was appointed a Judge of the Sudan High Court and he married Dorothea May Weeks the following year. From 1942 he was Judge Advocate-General of the Sudan Defence Force before he retired in 1944 and returned to England. Upon his return to England he became chairman of the

Pensions Appeal Tribunal The Pensions Appeal Tribunal was a judicial tribunal in the United Kingdom which had jurisdiction to hear and decide appeals against decisions of the Secretary of State in connection with applications for war pensions by former members of the mil ...

for England and Wales until 1948. He died on 24 May 1961 aged 66.

References

Regimental biography
*

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 3 ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

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 fo ...

(This England, 1997) *

VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915 ''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the 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 ...

(Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Devonshire)'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming-Sandes, Arthur James Terence British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I East Surrey Regiment officers Artists' Rifles soldiers People educated at The King's School, Canterbury People from Tulse Hill 1894 births 1961 deaths Members of Gray's Inn Sudan Political Service officers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Anglo-Egyptian Sudan judges Military personnel from London