Richard George Masters VC (30 March 1877 – 4 April 1963) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 Gallantry may refer to: * military courage or bravery * Chivalry * Warrior ethos * Knightly Piety Knightly Piety refers to a specific strand of Christian belief espoused by knights during the Middle Ages. The term comes from ''Ritterfrömmigkei ...

in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

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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.

Details

He was 41 years old, and 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

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

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 ...

, attd. 141st Field Ambulance 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 deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 9 April 1918 near Bethune,

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, owing to an enemy attack, communications were cut off and the wounded could not be evacuated. The road was reported impassable but Private Masters volunteered to try to get through and after great difficulty succeeded, although he had to clear the road of all sorts of debris. He made journey after journey throughout the afternoon over a road which was being shelled and swept by

machine-gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

fire and once he was bombed by an aeroplane. The greater number of wounded (approximately 200 men) were evacuated by him as his was the only car which got through. After his death in 1963 at the age of 86, he was buried at St Cuthbert's parish church in Churchtown, Southport. The Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) Centre 30 Pelham Drive,

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

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is named after Private Masters, VC.BBC NEWS , UK , England , Merseyside , Base naming honour for WWI hero
/ref> It was built to house what is now 238 SQN 156 TPT RLC(V) – 238 Squadron of 156 Transport Regimen

(Volunteers). The RLC, formerly th

includes the Field Ambulance units which trace their history back through the

, the Army Service Corps and beyond. A troop of 96 Sqn RLC based at ATR Pirbright is also named after him.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the New

Royal Logistic Corps Museum The Royal Logistic Corps Museum is based at Worthy Down near Winchester. It tells story of logistic support to the British Army from Agincourt to the modern day. The museum holds the collection of the Royal Logistic Corps RLC and the collectio ...

'' RHQ The RLC, Building 204, Worthy Down Barracks, Winchester. SO21 2RG England)''. 2021 (signed KMB)

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) *''

VCs of the First World War ''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 ...

: Spring Offensive 1918'' (Gerald Gliddon, 1997)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(grave in Lancashire )'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Masters, Richard George 1877 births 1963 deaths People from Southport Royal Army Service Corps soldiers Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross