Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Brett Mackay Cloutman VC MC KC (7 November 1891 – 15 August 1971) was a British Army officer who was awarded 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 A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. Brett Cloutman was educated at Berkhamsted School, Bishop's Stortford College and London University where he was a member of the

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 ...

contingent of the university's Officers' Training Corps. At the outbreak of World War I Cloutman enlisted as a Rifleman in the Rangers (12th Battalion,

London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). The ...

), reached the rank of Lance-Corporal, and in 1915 was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Kent (Fortress) Engineers, a Territorial Force unit.

Military Cross

Cloutman, by then Acting

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in command of the 59th Field Company,

, was awarded the Military Cross for an action in September 1918:

For conspicuous gallantly and devotion to duty at
Banteux Banteux () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes c ...
on the morning of 30th September, 1918, when he made a personal reconnaissance under heavy machine-gun fire to ascertain the possibilities of bridging the
Canal de L'Escaut The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
.

Victoria Cross

A few weeks later the action took place for which Cloutman won his VC. The official citation read: The bridge had been prepared for demolition by the Germans, and was well defended. By cutting the wires, Cloutman prevented the enemy from blowing it up at the time. He was seen at the bridge, however, and escaped under an intense fire from its guards. The fact that the abutments were not destroyed later meant that the bridge could be more quickly replaced by the Allies. This was the last act to win a VC in the First World War.

Later career

After the war Cloutman became a lawyer and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at Gray's Inn in 1926. In World War II he served again in the

and received a mention in despatches. He became a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1946 and in 1947 he was appointed Senior Chairman of the

War Pension War pensions are almost certainly the most ancient type of social security. Plutarch's Life of Solon mentions a law which provides that those who are maimed in war shall be maintained at the public charge. Halsbury's Laws of England traced their his ...

s Tribunal. He was Senior Official Referee of the Supreme Court of Judicature (now the Senior Courts of England and Wales) 1954–63. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

of 1957.Supplement to the London Gazette, 4 June 1957
/ref> He was Master of the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers 1939–40 and 1965–66. Following his death in 1971, his ashes were interred at Norfolk Cemetery, in the Somme department, in the grave of his brother, an officer of No. 178 Tunnelling Company who was killed on 22 August 1915. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Royal Engineers Museum The Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive is a military engineering museum and library in Gillingham, Kent. It tells the story of the Corps of Royal Engineers and British military engineering in general. History The 'Ravelin Building', ...

Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. The town developed around Chatham ...

Publications

''The Law relating to authors and publishers''
(with Francis Luck), J. Bale, Sons & Danielsson, Ltd, London, 1927

(with Francis Luck), London, J. Bale, Sons & Danielsson, Ltd, 1929

Staples Press, London, 1949

References

CLOUTMAN, His Honour Sir Brett
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 * Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) * The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) *

The Sapper VCs 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 ...

(Gerald Napier, 1998) *

VCs of the First World War - The Final Days 1918 ''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 ...

(Gerald Gliddon, 2000) *

External links

Royal Engineers Museum
Sappers VCs

''(Golders Green)''
Pont sur Sambre
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloutman, Brett Mackay 1891 births 1971 deaths Military personnel from London People from Muswell Hill Officers' Training Corps officers People educated at Bishop's Stortford College Alumni of the University of London Royal Engineers officers Recipients of the Military Cross British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II English barristers Members of Gray's Inn English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Burials at Norfolk Cemetery Official Referees (England and Wales)