Captain Edward Kinder Bradbury VC (16 August 1881 – 1 September 1914) was 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 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. Bradbury was an officer in the

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 where as second-in-command of

L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery L, or l, is the twelfth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''el'' (pronounced ), plural ''els''. History Lamedh ...

he led the battery during an engagement at Néry during the

Retreat from Mons The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...

on 1 September 1914, where he was killed in action. For the gallantry at Néry, he and two other men were awarded the Victoria Cross.

Early career

Born in August 1881, in Altrincham, Cheshire, he was the son of James Kinder Bradbury and Grace Dowling. He attended the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, as a cadet, passing out to join the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

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 ...

on 2 May 1900. He was promoted to full

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 3 April 1901, and in January 1902 was

seconded In deliberative bodies a second to a proposed motion is an indication that there is at least one person besides the mover that is interested in seeing the motion come before the meeting. It does not necessarily indicate that the seconder favors th ...

for service with the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

for the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, and appointed a lieutenant with the 31st Battalion. The war ended six months later, and Bradbury resigned his appointment in the Imperial Yeomanry in November 1902, leaving

Port Natal Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

for

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

on the SS ''Dominion'' the same month. He was posted to the 127th Battery RFA in 1904."Naval and Military Intelligence", p. 10, ''The Times'', 31 December 1904 In early 1905 he was seconded to duties with the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, during which time he appears to have served with the

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions withi ...

. He returned to a regimental post in 1907, received his captaincy in 1910, and became an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

in February 1912, returning to normal duties in November. Bradbury rode his horse "Sloppy Weather" in the 1909 Royal Artillery Gold Cup, coming third; another of his horses, "Hot Water", competed in the 1911

Punchestown Festival Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish National ...

, again coming third.

First World War

Bradbury was 33 years old, and a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 'L' Bty.,

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...

(

during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 1 September 1914 at

Néry Néry () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The commune includes the hamlets of Huleux, Vaucelles, and Verrines. The Church of Saint-Martin in Néry dates from 1140 with later additions. The Manoir de Huleux was built in 15 ...

, France, during a fierce attack by the enemy, when all the officers of 'L' Battery were either killed or wounded, Captain Bradbury along with Sergeant Major Dorrell and Sergeant Nelson, continued the lone resistance against the German attack. Although having had one leg taken off by a shell while fetching ammunition, Bradbury continued to direct the fire of the battery until he died.CWGC entry
/ref> His Victoria Cross is displayed 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 ...

in London, England. NéryGunIWMApril2008

References

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 36 ...

(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 fol ...

(This England, 1997) *

VCs of the First World War - 1914 ''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, 1994)

External links

The Néry Gun and Medals at Imperial War Museum Victoria Cross and George Cross Gallery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbury, Edward Kinder 1881 births 1914 deaths British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I Royal Horse Artillery officers People from Altrincham Military personnel from Cheshire British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich English jockeys British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials in France