Charles Henry Cowley, VC (21 February 1872 – 25 April 1916) was a British merchant seaman and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest 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.

Victoria Cross

Cowley was 44 years old, and a lieutenant commander in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

during the First World War, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On the night of 24/25 April 1916 in Mesopotamia, an attempt was made to reprovision the force besieged at

Kut-el-Amara Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

. Lieutenant Commander Cowley, with a lieutenant (

Humphrey Osbaldston Brooke Firman Humphrey Osbaldston Brooke Firman VC (24 November 1886 – 24 April 1916) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Comm ...

) (commanding SS ''Julnar''), a sub-lieutenant and 12 ratings, started off with 210 tons of stores up the

River Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empti ...

. Unfortunately ''Julnar'' was attacked almost at once by Turkish machine-guns and artillery. At Magasis, steel hawsers stretched across the river halted the expedition, the enemy opened fire at point-blank range and ''Julnar's'' bridge was smashed. ''Julnar's'' commander was killed, also several of his crew; Lieutenant-Commander Cowley was taken prisoner with the other survivors and almost certainly executed by the Turks. CWGC entry
/ref>

References

External links

*
VC Citation in London Gazette
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Charles Henry 1872 births 1916 deaths British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy officers British military personnel killed in World War I Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I People from Baghdad