Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Brett Mackay Cloutman VC MC KC (7 November 1891 – 15 August 1971) was a

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 ...

officer who was awarded 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. Brett Cloutman was educated at

Berkhamsted School Berkhamsted School is an independent day school in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded in 1541 by John Incent, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral ...

Bishop's Stortford College Bishop's Stortford College is a independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition for more than 1,200 pupils aged 4–18, situated in a campus on the edge of the market town of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, Englan ...

and

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

where he was a member of the Royal Engineers contingent of the university's

Officers' Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

. At the outbreak of

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 ...

Cloutman enlisted as a Rifleman in the Rangers (12th Battalion, London Regiment), reached the rank of Lance-Corporal, and in 1915 was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Kent (Fortress) Engineers, a

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

unit.

Military Cross

Cloutman, by then Acting Major in command of the 59th Field Company, Royal Engineers, was awarded the Military Cross for an action in September 1918:

For conspicuous gallantly and devotion to duty at Banteux 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.

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 at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1926. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he served again in the Royal Engineers and received a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He became a King's Counsel 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 hi ...

s Tribunal. He was Senior Official Referee of the Supreme Court of Judicature (now the

Senior Courts of England and Wales The courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales. The United Kingdom does not have a ...

) 1954–63. He was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1957.Supplement to the London Gazette, 4 June 1957
/ref> He was Master of the

Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers (Glass Sellers' Company) is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The company received its royal charter from King Charles II in 1664. Its role was to regulate the glass selling and pot-ma ...

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, Chatham, Kent.

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 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) * The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998) * VCs of the First World War - The Final Days 1918 (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)