Lieutenant-Colonel John Elisha Grimshaw VC (20 January 1893 – 20 July 1980) was an English 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.

Early life

John Elisha Grimshaw was descended from one of the lines of Grimshaws at Abram, Lancashire, He was born in 1893 and was employed as a carpenter at Cross & Tetley's Collieries in the

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

coalfield before enlisting in the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

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 ...

, in August 1912. He served with his battalion in India before the outbreak of the First World War.

Military service

Grimshaw was 22 years old, and a

Lance-Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equiv ...

signaller in C Company of the 1st Battalion, when he took part in the landing on W Beach on 25 April 1915 west of Cape Helles,

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 ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, at the opening of the Battle of Gallipoli. His job was to maintain communications between the units which had landed and the headquarters for the landing on HMS ''Euryalus''. During the landing, the three companies and the Headquarters of the 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, were met by a very heavy and effective fire from the company of Ottoman Empire troops defending the beach. This caused 533 casualties out of the 950 men who attempted to land. The survivors, however, rushed up and cut the wire entanglements notwithstanding the terrific fire from the enemy and after overcoming supreme difficulties, the cliffs were gained and the position maintained. Grimshaw's own account said that Grimshaw was awarded a

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

for his actions during the landing. Grimshaw, along with

Cuthbert Bromley Major Cuthbert Bromley Victoria Cross, VC (19 September 1878 – 13 August 1915) was an England, 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 U ...

William Kenealy Lance Sergeant William Stephen Kenealy VC, (26 December 1886 – 29 June 1915) was an Irish 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 Commonw ...

Alfred Joseph Richards Sergeant Alfred Joseph Richards VC (21 June 1879 – 21 May 1953) 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 force ...

Frank Edward Stubbs Frank Edward Stubbs (12 March 1888 – 25 April 1915) was an England, 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 United Kingdom, British and Comm ...

and

Richard Raymond Willis Major Richard Raymond Willis VC (13 October 1876 – 9 February 1966) 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 f ...

had originally been nominated for a Victoria Cross by Major Bishop, the battalion's commanding officer, after consulting "the officers who happened to be with him at the time and who did not include either of the officers awarded the Cross". The recommendation endorsed by Hunter-Weston and Hamilton but was not proceeded with by the War Office. In August, Hunter-Weston made a second recommendation for three of the men; under the original 1856 warrant establishing the award up to 4 VCs could be awarded as a result of balloting the units involved; and Keneally, Richards and Willis, were awarded the medal having been selected by the surviving privates, NCOs and officers respectively. However, Brigadier Owen Wolley-Dod, who was a member of Hunter-Weston's general staff and a Lancashire Fusilier himself, and who had landed on the beach shortly after noon continued pressing for more awards to be made. Eventually the other three men, including Grimshaw, were finally awarded the medal. The awards were published in the ''London Gazette'' on 13 March 1917, with an identical citation to the original three men. Grimshaw had his DCM cancelled and replaced with a Victoria Cross. The courage of the six men awarded the medal as a result of the landing was hailed in the Press as "6 VCs before breakfast". Meanwhile, Grimshaw had been evacuated from Gallipoli suffering from

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the han ...

and, in 1916, posted to Hull as a rifle instructor. Whilst at Hull, he married Margaret Stout, with whom he later had two children. He was subsequently sent with his battalion to France where, as 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 ...

, he was commissioned in 1917. In 1918 he was posted to the First Battalion of the

75th Carnatic Infantry The 75th Carnatic Infantry were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1776, when they were raised as the 15th Carnatic Battalion by enlisting men from the 2nd, 6th and 12th Carnatic Battalions. Their ...

in India, and promoted to

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 ...

, before rejoining the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1920 and retiring in 1921. In 1934 he was appointed the Army's Chief Recruiting Officer in the

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

n Area and promoted to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

; he later held the same appointment in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

. He died on 20 July 1980 at

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

, London, and was cremated at the South West London Crematorium in

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...

, Middlesex.

Early life

Military service

References

Further reading