Captain Stephen Halden Beattie VC (29 March 1908 – 20 April 1975) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 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.

Biography

Beattie was born at Leighton,

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

to Rev. Prebendary Ernest Halden Beattie, MC and Ethel Knowles. He was educated at

Abberley Hall School Abberley Hall School is a coeducational preparatory day and boarding school with about 160 pupils. It is located between Worcester and Tenbury, near the village of Abberley, Worcestershire, England. History The school began in 1878 as the Dame ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1925 as a Special Entry Cadet. Beattie was 33 years old, and a

lieutenant-commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in the

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when the following deed at the

St Nazaire Raid The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy (RN) a ...

took place in 1942 whilst in command of HMS ''Campbeltown'' for which he was awarded the VC: After grounding the ship, Beattie was taken prisoner of war by the Germans, spending the first part of his captivity in Frontstalag 133 at

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

in France before being transferred to Marlag and Milag Nord, the POW camp for Royal Navy and Merchant Navy prisoners, near Bremen. He was notified of the award of the Victoria Cross during a special parade at Marlag and Milag Nord. He remained in captivity until 10 April 1945 when, as part of a prisoner of war column evacuated from the prison camp by the Germans, he was liberated at

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

. He was later mentioned in despatches for his gallant bearing in captivity. In 1947 Beattie received the French ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

''. He later achieved the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and served as

Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf, was a Royal Navy command appointment who was responsible for administering the Persian Gulf Station military formation including its establishments and naval forces known as the Persian Gulf Squadron later c ...

from April 1956 to April 1958. His last appointment circa 1957-60 was Commanding Officer HMS Birmingham and Flag Captain to Flag Officer, Flotillas, Home Fleet. Later in the mid-1960s he was naval adviser to the

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n government. He died at

Mullion, Cornwall Mullion ( kw, Eglosvelyan) is a civil parish and village on the Lizard Peninsula in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The nearest town is Helston approximately to the north. Mullion civil parish encompasses the church town (now known si ...

. He is buried at Ruan Minor Churchyard in

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map shee ...

, Cornwall, United Kingdom. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

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, England.

References

* British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997) *''

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)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Cornwall)''

1908 births 1975 deaths Royal Navy officers Royal Navy officers of World War II British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Legion of Honour World War II prisoners of war held by Germany People from Montgomeryshire Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Welsh recipients of the Victoria Cross Ethiopian military personnel Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia {{UK-navy-bio-stub