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 colone ...

Neville Bowes Elliott-Cooper, (22 January 1889 – 11 February 1918) was a

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 ...

officer and 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 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

Elliott-Cooper was born on 22 January 1889 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the youngest son of Sir Robert Elliott-Cooper. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

.Elliott-Cooper, Neville Bowes
Commonwealth War Graves Commission When he was 28 years old, and a temporary lieutenant colonel commanding the 8th Battalion the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 30 November 1917 east of

La Vacquerie La Vacquerie () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Caumont-sur-Aure Caumont-sur-Aure (, literally ''Caumont on Aure'') is a commun ...

, near

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

, France, during the Battle of Cambrai.

Citation

He died of his wounds while a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

on 11 February 1918 in Hannover, Germany. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Fusiliers Museum,

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, England.

References

British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I 1889 births 1918 deaths People educated at Eton College Military personnel from London Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People from the City of Westminster World War I prisoners of war held by Germany British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British World War I prisoners of war Burials at the Ohlsdorf Cemetery {{England-mil-bio-stub