Captain Thomas Riversdale Colyer-Fergusson VC (18 February 1896 − 31 July 1917) 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 (VC), 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 and education

Born in London in February 1896 to Thomas Colyer Colyer Fergusson (later Sir Thomas Colyer Fergusson) and the late Beatrice Stanley, he was educated at

Summer Fields Summer Fields is a fee-paying boys' independent day and boarding preparatory school in Summertown, Oxford. It was originally called Summerfield and used to have a subsidiary school, Summerfields, St Leonards-on-Sea (known as "Summers mi"). H ...

and Harrow School before going up to Oriel College, Oxford.Colyer-Fergusson, Thomas Riversdale
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

First World War

Colyer-Fergusson was 21 years old, and an acting captain in the 2nd Battalion,

The Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

when performed the deed on 31 July 1917 during the

Battle of Pilckem Ridge The Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August 1917) was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The British Fifth Army, supported by the Second Army on the southern flank and the French (First Army) on the n ...

at Bellewaarde,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

which earned him the Victoria Cross. After performing the deed, Colyer-Fergusson died of a gunshot wound from a sniper shot. His Victoria Cross is part of the collection at the Museum of The Northamptonshire Regiment (48th & 58th Foot),Northamptonshire Regiment Museum
/ref> Northampton, England and he is buried in Menin Road South Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery. There is a memorial in his memory in St Peter's Church, Ightham, Kent. His name also appears on the war memorial at Ifield Church, Gravesend, Kent. The VC medal is presently (July 2017) on loan to the National Trust, and on display at

Ightham Mote Ightham Mote (), Ightham, Kent is a medieval moated manor house. The architectural writer John Newman describes it as "the most complete small medieval manor house in the county". Ightham Mote and its gardens are owned by the National Trust a ...

, his family home.

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 fol ...

(This England, 1997) *

VCs of the First World War - Passchendaele 1917 ''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 ...

(Stephen Snelling, 1998)

External links

* *''No Time to Spare? A History of Summer Fields War Dead'' (Chris Sparrow, 2006)https://web.archive.org/web/20060518190326/http://www.summerfields.oxon.sch.uk/user_pages/no_time_to_spare/NTTS.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Colyer-Fergusson, Thomas Riversdale 1896 births 1917 deaths Northamptonshire Regiment officers British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I People educated at Summer Fields School People from Westminster People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials at Menin Road South Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Deaths by firearm in Belgium Military personnel from London