Edward Foster VC (4 January 1886 – 22 January 1946) 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

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forces. Born in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, London on 4 February 1886, Foster worked for

Wandsworth Council Wandsworth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Wandsworth is divided into 20 wards, eac ...

in South West London as a

dustman A waste collector, also known as a garbageman, garbage collector, trashman (in the US), binman or (rarely) dustman (in the UK), is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and dispose of municipal solid waste (refuse) and r ...

. On 27 July 1915, 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 ...

, he enlisted in the 13th Battalion (Wandsworth) East Surrey Regiment,

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 ...

, and went to France with the battalion in June 1916. Foster was 31 years old, and a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in the 13th East Surreys, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 24 April 1917 at

Villers-Plouich Villers-Plouich is a commune in the Nord department in northern France, situated 14 km south-west of the town of Cambrai. Geography The commune of has evolved over time to consist of the main village centre and two separate hamlets: * Be ...

, Nord,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, during an attack, the advance was held up in a portion of the village by two machine-guns which were entrenched and strongly covered by wire entanglements. Corporal Foster, who was in charge of two Lewis guns, succeeded in entering the trench and engaging the enemy guns. One of the Lewis guns was lost, but the corporal rushed forward, bombed the enemy and recovered the gun. Then, getting his two guns into action, he killed the enemy gun team and captured their guns. Foster was also awarded the

Médaille Militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

. Foster was discharged from the Army in October 1918 and returned to work with Wandsworth Council. The council, in recognition of his gallant record, promoted him to Dusting Inspector in which capacity he continued to work for twenty-six years. He died suddenly at the age of 60 on 22 January 1946. He is buried in Streatham Cemetery in London where a headstone was erected on his grave in 1997.Edward Foster VC - Victoria Cross database
/ref> His Victoria Cross and other medals were sold by

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

on 30 June 1988 for £11,000. His VC is now on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

, London.

Honours

UK King George VI Coronation Medal ribbon

References

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(South London)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Edward 1886 births 1946 deaths People from Streatham East Surrey Regiment soldiers British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials at Streatham Cemetery Military personnel from Surrey