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Harold Ackroyd, (18 July 1877 – 11 August 1917) was a British physician, scientific researcher, army officer and a 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 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. An officer with the
Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
during the First World War, he was
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...
awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in late July–early August 1917, during the
Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...
.


Early life

Ackroyd was born on 18 July 1877 in Roe Lane, Southport, Lancashire to Ellen and Edward Ackroyd. His father was chairman of the Cheshire Lines & Southport Extension Railway Company. Ackroyd was educated locally at Mintholme College, Southport, and Shrewsbury School. Following his elder brother Edward, who had matriculated in 1893 he then entered
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
in October 1896. He completed his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in 1899, before he did some travelling and then spent one year in the research group of Gowland Hopkins before continuing his medical studies at
Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...
, London. He gained his BC in 1903, MB (Bachelor of Medicine) in 1904 and his MD (Doctor of Medicine) in 1910.


Medical career

He worked at Guy's Hospital in 1904–05, London before serving as the House Surgeon at Queen's Hospital in Birmingham. He was then employed at the David Lewis Northern Hospital, Liverpool 1905-06 before in 1908 securing an "Ordinary Research Scholarship" from the British Medical Association, which allowed him to engage in research work at Cambridge, initially at the Strangeways Research Hospital. By the time he renewed his research scholarship in 1910 Ackroyd was working in the Pharmacological Laboratory with Walter E. Dixon. He then began research work in association with Frederick Gowland Hopkins, with the pair co-authoring a number of research papers.


Military service

When the First World War began in 1914 Ackroyd was nearly 37 but, despite his age, occupation and being married with three small children, he joined up and on 15 February 1915 was commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). In July 1915, Ackroyd was sent to France, where he was attached as a medical officer to the 6th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, (Princess Charlotte of Wales's), part of the 53rd Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division. After his promotion to temporary captain in 1916, he saw action at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. On 19 July he was presented at the three days of fighting at
Delville Wood The Battle of Delville Wood was a series of engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War, between the armies of the German Empire and the British Empire. Delville Wood , was a thick tangle of trees, chiefly beech and ...
which became the graveyard of the 53rd Brigade as originally constituted. Under heavy shelling and braving snipers, Ackroyd remained cool and methodical, saving many lives. No less than 11 officers singled him out for praise in their written reports and he was recommended for the Victoria Cross. At one point, Ackroyd was blown into the air by an exploding shell. On 19 July 1916 he 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 ...
: Ackroyd rescued many of the wounded from the 1st South African Infantry Brigade and there is a memorial to him in the room commemorating Delville Wood at
Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort ( Xhosa: iBhofolo) is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the conflu ...
Historical Museum, South Africa. Showing signs of immense strain and nervous exhaustion he was reluctantly, invalided home on 11 August 1916 to commence six weeks of leave. Of the opinion that he had recovered Ackroyd by September was asking the Army Medical Board to allow him to return to his regiment in France, which he accomplished in December 1916.


Ypres

The 6th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment was fighting in The third battle 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 ...
, known as the Battle of Passchendaele, which commenced on 31 July 1917 when the following deed took place for which he received 23 separate recommendations for the Victoria Cross, and which was subsequently awarded: Ackroyd was subsequently killed on 11 August 1917 in Jargon Trench on the western edge of Glencorse Wood, Ypres, Belgium by a sniper. His second in command Private Albert Scriven wrote to Ackroyd's widow describing what happened:
“I was acting orderly corporal and on hearing the news I took a party of stretcher bearers but on arrival found he was dead. There were six other poor fellows in the same shell hole who met the same fate, it was a perfect death trap. He was visiting each company about 150 yds ahead of us to see if there were any wounded to attend to and was shot in the head by a sniper.”
Ackroyd's body was evacuated and buried. A headstone at Birr Cross Roads Cemetery,
Zillebeke Zillebeke (also known as Zellebeck) is a village in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium. It is a former municipality which is now part of Ypres. History On 3 March 1914 the then municipality was granted the arms of the last Lords o ...
near Ypres reads "Believed to be buried in this cemetery." His Victoria Cross (number 851) was presented by King George V at Buckingham Palace to his widow Mabel and son Stephen on 26 September 1917.


Personal life

Ackroyd met Mabel Robina Smythe (1877–1947) matron of Strangeways Hospital, Cambridge while he was working there. They were married on 1 August 1908 and lived in
Great Shelford Great Shelford is a village located approximately to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained bisected by the river Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001 ...
,
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
where their children Ursula (1909–1993) and Stephen (1912–1963) were born. They then moved to Brooklands, 46 Kneesworth Street, Royston,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, where Anthony (1914–1988) was born.


Memorials

There is a memorial to Ackroyd on the street-facing wall and inside his former house at 46 Kneesworth Street in Royston. His name on the Royston war memorial in Melbourn Street, Royston., which was unveiled on 26 March 1922. Ackroyd Road in Royston has been named after him.


The medals

His medals were purchased from his descendants in 2003 by Lord
Michael Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is ...
. The proceeds from the sale were used to endow an annual medical scholarship at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Harold Ackroyd's alma mater. In addition, the college agreed to arrange an annual memorial lecture on a scientific subject connected with medicine. Ackroyd's medals were subsequently put on public display at the Imperial War Museum, London. Replicas of Ackroyd's Victoria Cross, his Military Cross and other war medals are on display at the RAMC HQ in Millbank, London along with a painting of him winning the Victoria Cross.


References


Further reading

*
Obituary notice
(Biochemical Journal (1918) 12 1–3)
Record Details for Harold Ackroyd (Royal Army Medical Corps)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackroyd, Harold 1877 births 1917 deaths Military personnel from Lancashire People educated at Shrewsbury School People from Southport British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Army Medical Corps officers British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Great Shelford Deaths by firearm in Belgium Recipients of the Military Cross