Abraham Acton VC (17 December 1893 – 16 May 1915) 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.

Biography

Acton was born on 17 December 1893 to Robert and Elizabeth Eleanor Acton, of 4 Regent Square, Senhouse Street, Whitehaven in Cumberland.Acton, Abraham
Commonwealth War Graves Commission He was 21 years old, and a private in the 2nd Battalion,

The Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

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 ...

. He and

James Alexander Smith James Alexander Smith VC (5 January 1881 – 21 May 1968) was born in Workington, Cumberland and was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be award ...

, were both awarded their Victoria Cross for their actions on 21 December 1914 at Rouges Bancs, France. He was killed in action at

Festubert Festubert is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The village was on the Western Front during the First World War and was largely destroyed in the May 1915 Battle of Festubert. Geography A farming v ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, on 16 May 1915, but his body was never found - he is commemorated on the

Le Touret Memorial The Le Touret Memorial is a World War I memorial, located near the former commune of Richebourg-l'Avoué, in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. The memorial lists 13,389 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave who were kill ...

.Burial Location of Abraham Acton
''France'', victoriacross.org.uk His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Beacon,

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

, Cumbria, England.

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 - 1914 ''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 ...

(Gerald Gliddon, 1994)

External links

Location of Abraham Acton's Victoria Cross
''The Beacon, Whitehaven''* *The Regimental Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Acton, Abraham 1893 births 1915 deaths British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Border Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I People from Whitehaven British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross