Richard J Annesley West, (26 September 1878 – 2 September 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 and education

Richard J Annesley West was born on 26 September 1878 at 1 Oxford Street,

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, the sixth child of Irish landowner and former army officer Augustus George West and his wife Sara West (née Eyre), of Whitepark,

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

. He was educated at

Monkton Combe School (Thy Word is Truth) , established = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , founder = The Revd Francis Pocock , head_label = Head Master , head ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Details

West was 39 years old, and an acting

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 ...

in the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was on ...

, seconded to 6th Battalion,

Tank Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armo ...

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 ...

when the following action took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 21 August 1918 at

Courcelles Courcelles may refer to: Places Belgium * Courcelles, Belgium, a municipality located in the province of Hainaut Canada * Courcelles-Saint-Évariste, a municipality France * Courcelles, Charente-Maritime * Courcelles, Doubs * Courcelles, Meur ...

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 ...

, during an attack, the infantry lost their bearings in dense fog and Lieutenant Colonel West at once collected any men he could find and led them to their objective, in face of heavy machine-gun fire. On 2 September at

Vaulx-Vraucourt Vaulx-Vraucourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Vaulx-Vraucourt lies southeast of Arras and about northeast of Bapaume, at the junction of the D20, D10E and D36 roads. History ...

, he arrived at the front line when the enemy were delivering a local counter-attack. The infantry battalion had suffered heavy officer casualties and realizing the danger if they gave way, and despite the enemy being almost upon them, Colonel West rode up and down in face of certain death, encouraging the men. He fell riddled with bullets. His magnificent bravery at a critical moment so inspired the infantry that the hostile attack was defeated. He is buried at the Mory Abbey Military Cemetery, Mory.

The medal

His Victoria Cross was purchased on behalf of the Lord Ashcroft collection in 2002 and is displayed on rotation at The Lord Ashcroft Gallery: Extraordinary Heroes exhibition,

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

, London.

References

External links

The Daily Telegraph: The ultimate sacrifice of a true British hero 30 July 2014 by Lord Ashcroft
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Richard Annesley 1878 births 1918 deaths People from Cheltenham People educated at Monkton Combe School Recipients of the Military Cross British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Tank Regiment officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I North Irish Horse officers British Yeomanry soldiers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Gloucestershire