Thomas Bryan VC (21 January 1882 – 13 October 1945) 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 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 forces.

Early life

Byran was born in Worcestershire, but grew up in

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England. He moved as a toddler with his family who headed north to find work in the Yorkshire collieries. His father worked as a miner at the Whitwood Colliery. Byran followed his father into the mines working at Askern Colliery.

VC action

Bryan was 35 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 equi ...

in the 25th (Service) Battalion (2nd

Tyneside Irish Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published ...

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution ...

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 ...

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 ...

at the Battle of Arras when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 9 April 1917 near Arras, France, during an attack Lance-Corporal Bryan although wounded, went forward alone in order to silence a machine-gun which was inflicting much damage. He worked his way along the communication trench, approached the gun from behind, disabled it and killed two of the team. The results obtained by Lance-Corporal Bryan's action were very far-reaching.

Rugby league

Bryan played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

for Castleford RFC (unrelated to the Castleford Tigers) in the 1906–07 season, at the end of which the club withdrew from the Northern Union for financial reasons.Yorkshire Post: For Valour – VC heroes game forgot
/ref> His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London. His grave is maintained by th
Victoria Cross Trust

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 3 ...

(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 fo ...

(This England, 1997) * VCs of the First World War: Arras and Messines 1917 (Sutton, 1998)

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Castleford info
*(archived by web.archive.org

*(archived by web.archive.org

''(South Yorkshire)'' *(archived by web.archive.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Thomas 1882 births 1945 deaths Burials in South Yorkshire British Army personnel of World War I British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Castleford RFC players English rugby league players People from Stourbridge Royal Northumberland Fusiliers soldiers Rugby league players from Worcestershire Military personnel from Worcestershire