Sir Arnold Horace Santo Waters, (23 September 1886 – 22 January 1981) was a British engineer, soldier and 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.

Details

He was 32 years old, and an acting major in the 218th Field Company,

Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

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 ...

at the second battle of the Sambre when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC: On 4 November 1918 near Ors, France, Major Waters, with his Field Company, was bridging the Oise-Sambre Canal under artillery and machine-gun fire at close range, the bridge being damaged and the building party suffering severe casualties. All Major Waters' officers had been killed or wounded and he at once went forward and personally supervised the completion of the bridge, working on cork floats while under such intense fire that it seemed impossible that he could survive. The success of the operation was entirely due to his valour and example.

Further information

Later he was knighted, becoming Sir Arnold Waters. He was the President of the

Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. The Institution has over 30,000 members operating in over 100 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation ...

in 1933–34 and 1943–1944, the only person to hold the post twice.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum, Chatham, Kent.

References

External links

Royal Engineers Museum
Sappers VCs

''(Warwickshire)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Arnold Horace Santo 1886 births 1981 deaths Engineers from Plymouth, Devon Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War I British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Military Cross Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Bachelor Presidents of the Institution of Structural Engineers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Plymouth, Devon