George Stanley Peachment VC (5 May 1897 – 25 September 1915) 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

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. Before he joined up in April 1915, Peachment was an apprentice

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

maker in

Bury, Lancashire Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the Historic counties of Englan ...

.Annual Report, Steam Engine Makers' Society, 1915 He enlisted at only 17 years and 11 months old giving a false age. He joined the 6th battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps, later transferring to the 2nd battalion. Peachment was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the 2nd Battalion, The

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

, British Army during World War I at the Battle of Loos, on 25 September 1915 near

Hulluch Hulluch () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography An ex-coalmining town, now a farming commune, situated some north of Lens, at the junction of the D947 and the D39 roads. History The cha ...

, France, when his actions led to the award of the Victoria Cross. His citation in the London Gazette reads: Peachment at 18 years and 4 months was the second youngest army recipient of the VC in World War I, after John Cornwell. His medal is held in the Lord Ashcroft VC Collection 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 ...

References

* Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) * The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) *

VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915 ''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 ...

(Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Peachment, George Stanley British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I People from Bury, Greater Manchester 1897 births 1915 deaths King's Royal Rifle Corps soldiers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Lancashire