John Ripley VC (20 August 1867 – 14 August 1933) was a Scottish 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 ...

(VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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.

Early life

Ripley was born in

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...

, Scotland on 20 August 1867. On leaving school he had a number of jobs, finally becoming a

slater A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesman, tradesperson who covers buildings with slate. Tools of the trade The various hand tool, tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged. The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucib ...

, settling in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

, Fife. In June 1895, he married Jane Laing, a domestic servant. They had a son, Alexander, who served in the 7th Battalion, Black Watch during 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 ...

. In 1884, Ripley joined the part-time

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

. He served for many years in the 6th Volunteer Battalion, Black Watch, becoming 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 ...

and one of his company's best shots. He received the

Volunteer Long Service Medal The Volunteer Long Service Medal was instituted in 1894 as an award for long service by other ranks and some officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the medal was discontinued when it was superseded by the Territorial Force ...

in January 1909, and retired in 1912. On the outbreak of the

, he volunteered as a recruiting sergeant, before enlisting for active service on 25 September 1914. He went to France with the 1st Battalion Black Watch in February 1915, with the rank of

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 ...

VC action

He was 47 years old, and a corporal in the 1st Battalion,

The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

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 ...

at the

battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive int ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC: On 9 May 1915 at Rue du Bois,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Corporal Ripley led his section on the right of the platoon in the assault and was the first man of the battalion to climb the enemy's parapet. From there he directed those following him to the gaps in the German wire entanglements. He then led his section through a breach in the parapet to a second line of trench. With seven or eight men he established himself, blocking other flanks, and continued to hold the position until all his men had fallen and he himself was badly wounded in the head. The VC was presented to him by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 1915. At 47, Ripley was the oldest recipient to win the VC during the First World War.

Later life

Recovering from his wounds, Ripley was appointed acting Sergeant in July 1915 and undertook recruiting duties in Edinburgh. Discharged from the army in March 1919, he returned to work as a slater, also sweeping chimneys and serving in the town's fire brigade. He was later given the Freedom of St Andrews. While working as a slater in August 1933, Ripley fell from a ladder and seriously injured his spine. He died shortly after admission to hospital, aged 65. He was buried in

Upper Largo Upper Largo or Kirkton of Largo is a village in the parish of Largo, Fife, Largo, near the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. It rests on the southern slopes of Largo Law and half a mile north of Largo Bay and the rather larger village of Lower Largo. I ...

Cemetery, Fife. His medals are currently held privately.

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) *

Scotland's Forgotten Valour ''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' is a 1995 book by Graham Ross, published by MacLean Press under . (The typography of the title on the book uses capitalisation to contrast emphasis ("SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR"), to communicate additional meanin ...

(Graham Ross, 1995) *

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)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Fife)'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripley, John British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I Black Watch soldiers People from Keith, Moray 1867 births 1933 deaths Accidental deaths in Scotland Accidental deaths from falls British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross