Edward Noel Mellish plaque, Oakleigh Park North

Edward Noel Mellish plaque and bench, Oakleigh Park North

St Mary the Virgin, Great Dunmow, Essex - geograph

Edward Noel Mellish (24 December 1880 – 8 July 1962) 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 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.

Background

Edward Noel Mellish was born on 24 December 1880 at

Oakleigh Park Oakleigh Park is a loosely defined district in the north of the London Borough of Barnet. It adjoins Whetstone, and is often regarded either as part of that or of East Barnet, although the East Coast Main Line forms a border with the latter. T ...

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

, North London. He was the son of Edward and Mary Mellish. He went on to be educated at

Saffron Walden Grammar School Saffron Walden Free Grammar School (or Saffron Walden Grammar School) was a school in the Essex town of Saffron Walden, which for over four hundred years educated the boys of the town and surrounding villages in a manner designed to be after the ...

and from there became a member of the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles is a regiment of the Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, the regimen ...

. In 1900 he began serving with Baden-Powell's Police during 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 ...

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 ...

. He returned to study Theology at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and took holy orders in 1912.

World War I

On the outbreak of 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 ...

Mellish was assistant curate at St Paul's, Deptford. He offered his services to the chaplaincy and served from May 1915 until February 1919. Just a few months after the start of his service, his brother

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 ...

Richard Coppin Mellish was killed in action whilst serving with the

1st Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Ref ...

at the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915. Reverend Mellish was attached to the 4th Battalion of the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

Ypres Salient The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War. Ypres district Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...

in 1916 and it was then during the first three days of the

Actions of St Eloi Craters The Actions of St Eloi Craters from 27 March to 16 April 1916, were local operations in the Ypres Salient of Flanders, during the First World War by the German 4th Army and the British Second Army. Sint-Elooi (the French is commonly used in E ...

, 27 to 29 March 1916, that he performed the actions for which he was awarded the

. He was the first member of the army chaplaincy to win the VC in the First World War.

Victoria Cross

Mellish was 35 years old, and a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

in the

Army Chaplains' Department The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until 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

when the following deeds took place for which he was awarded the VC. The citation reads: :"For most conspicuous bravery. During heavy fighting on three consecutive days he repeatedly went backwards and forwards, under continuous and heavy shell and machine-gun fire, between our original trenches and those captured from the enemy, in order to tend and rescue wounded men. He brought in ten badly wounded men on the first day from ground swept by machine-gun fire, and three were actually killed while he was dressing their wounds. :The battalion to which he was attached was relieved on the second day, but he went back and brought in twelve more wounded men. :On the night of the third day he took charge of a party of volunteers and once more returned to the trenches to rescue the remaining wounded. :This splendid work was quite voluntary on his part and outside the scope of his ordinary duties." Sint-Elooi (St Eloi) is located approximately about south of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

, Belgium. The defence of St Eloi is commemorated by the Hill 62 Memorial. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Fusilier Museum in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

. Replica medals are on display at the

Museum of Army Chaplaincy The Royal Army Chaplains' Museum (formerly the Museum of Army Chaplaincy) tells the story of British Army chaplaincy from earliest times to the present day, with the help of archive material and historical relics from several centuries. Its coll ...

After the war

Meelish was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in 1919. After the war Mellish was vicar of St Mark's, Lewisham and later of Wangford-cum-Henham and

Reydon Reydon is a village and civil parish, north-west of Southwold and south-east of Wangford, in the East Suffolk district and the ceremonial county of Suffolk, England. Its population of 2,567 in 2001 including Easton Bavents eased up to 2,582 a ...

in Suffolk. He was vicar of St Mary's Church, Great Dunmow in Essex from 1928 to 1948 and then was licensed as the perpetual curate of the Church of St Dunstan, Baltonsborough in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. He served in the Second World War as an

air-raid precautions Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s an ...

warden. In 1946 he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the county of Essex.

Memorial

Mellish's birthplace, Trenabie House, in Oakleigh Park North, no longer exists but in March 2016 a plaque was installed nearby in a ceremony attended by Mellish's daughter Claire.Victoria Cross recipient honoured.
Nick Griffin, London Borough of Barnet, 24 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.

References

;Notes ; Sources *''"Elegant Extracts" – The Royal Fusiliers Recipients of the VC'' (J. P. Kelleher, 2001) *

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)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Dorset)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mellish, Edward Noel 1880 births 1962 deaths 20th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of King's College London Artists' Rifles soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Deputy Lieutenants of Essex English military chaplains People educated at Saffron Walden Grammar School People from Chipping Barnet People from Great Dunmow Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers World War I chaplains Civil Defence Service personnel Military personnel from London