James Rogers, VC (4 July 1873 – 28 October 1961) was an Australian 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. Rogers received his award for his actions at

Thaba 'Nchu Thaba 'Nchu is a town in Free State, South Africa, 63 km east of Bloemfontein and 17 km east of Botshabelo. The population is largely made up of Tswana and Sotho people. The town was settled in December 1833 and officially established ...

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

on 15 June 1901 while serving in the

South African Constabulary The South African Constabulary (SAC) was a paramilitary force set up in 1900 under British Army control to police areas captured from the two independent Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State during the Second Boer War. Its first ...

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 ...

Early life

James Rogers was born on 4 July 1873 in

Moama, New South Wales Moama ( or ) is a town in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. The town is directly across the Murray River from the larger town of Echuca in the neighbouring state of Vi ...

, the son of John Rogers, a Welsh-born farmer, and his wife Sarah Louisa, née Johnstone, from Sydney. In 1886 his family moved to

Heywood, Victoria Heywood is a town on the Fitzroy River in the Australian state of Victoria. It is situated at an elevation of 27 metres amidst rolling green hills in an agricultural, pastoral and timbercutting district. Heywood is west of Melbourne at the int ...

, where he worked on his father's farm.

Military service

Rogers joined a local company of the

Victorian Mounted Rifles The Victorian Mounted Rifles (VMR) was a regiment composed of Australian forces that served in the Second Boer War. It was first raised by Colonel Tom Price in the mid-1880s, composed of voluntary forces. It was composed of several contingents, th ...

in 1898. Following the outbreak of the

he enlisted as 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 1st Victorian Mounted Infantry Company. He subsequently arrived at

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in South Africa in November 1899, where his contingent was allocated to a composite Australian regiment which served in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

and

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...

. In May 1900 he was seconded to the Provincial Mounted Police in Orange River Colony as 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 ...

. Rogers subsequently remained in South Africa at the conclusion of his period of service, joining the

. He was 26 years old, and a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the South African Constabulary,

South African Forces The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. After returning to Australia in late 1901 Rogers was commissioned as a

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 ...

in the 6th Battalion,

Australian Commonwealth Horse The Australian Commonwealth Horse (ACH) was a mounted infantry unit of the Australian Army formed for service during the Second Boer War in South Africa in 1902 and was the first expeditionary military unit established by the newly formed Common ...

, and embarked for South Africa again on 19 May 1902. Following the conclusion of the war his battalion returned to Australia, and he received his Victoria Cross from the acting governor-general,

Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Go ...

, on 18 September 1902 at Government House, Melbourne. He had previously been

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. Rogers then unsuccessfully sought to obtain a commission in the Australian Military Forces and, after buying and selling a property near

Yea, Victoria Yea ( ) is a town in Victoria, Australia north-east of the state capital Melbourne at the junction of the Goulburn Valley Highway and the Melba Highway, in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area. In an area originally inhabited by the T ...

, returned to South Africa where he worked as detective with the Cape Police until February 1904. On 25 April 1907, Rogers married Ethel Maud Seldon at

Portland, Victoria Portland is a city in Victoria, Australia, and is the oldest European settlement in the state. It is also the main urban centre in the Shire of Glenelg and is located on Portland Bay. As of the 2021 census the population was 10,016, increasing ...

and they later had two sons. Following 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 ...

, Rogers was appointed as a lieutenant with the

3rd Light Horse Brigade The 3rd Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time militia formation in the early 1900s i ...

Train, Australian Army Service Corps. He was wounded at Anzac Cove on

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

on 4 August 1915, and after recovering in hospital in Egypt later served in the Anzac Provost Corps before being returned to Australia for medical reasons in June 1916. Although his appointment in the Australian Imperial Force was terminated on 31 December 1916, he continued to serve on home duties as 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 ...

until the end of the conflict. He subsequently transferred to the reserves on 1 June 1922.

Later life

Rogers later worked as a grazier, running a property in the Mallee district in Victoria, before moving to

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

in Melbourne where he lived for 30 years. While living in Kew he had a series of accidents including a fall in his garden resulting in a broken leg for which he was treated at the

Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital The Austin Hospital is a public teaching hospital in Melbourne's north-eastern suburb of Heidelberg, and is administered by Austin Health, along with the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. History The Au ...

. He later sprained his ankle. Rogers was treated at the Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic with physio-therapy on 9 April 1948 for an old wound he sustained to his back., ''To add to the troubles, which Shakespeare said, "come not single spies, but in battalions," the veteran soldier then sprained his ankle.'' Following the death of his wife he moved to Roseville in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He died on 28 October 1961, in Concord Repatriation Hospital, Sydney. He was buried in Springvale Cemetery,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Honours and awards

Notes

References

* *

External links

* Staunton, Anthony
''Sgt James Rogers VC''
A Paper Presented to the 2000 Biennial Seminar of the

Military Historical Society of Australia The Military Historical Society of Australia (MHSA) is a voluntary organisation formed in 1957, focused upon promoting research and study of Australia's military history. Administered by a federal council based in the Australian Capital Territor ...

, 9–12 June 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, James 1875 births 1961 deaths People from Victoria (Australia) Australian recipients of the Victoria Cross Second Boer War recipients of the Victoria Cross Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army officers Military personnel from New South Wales People from New South Wales