Harold Ackroyd VC, MC (18 July 1877—11 August 1917) 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 awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. See below the section "Separate Commonwealth awards" Note that since The Military Cross ( MC) is the third level Military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993 other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland See below the section "Separate Commonwealth awards" Note that since The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located He was educated at Shrewsbury School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Shrewsbury School (formally known as King Edward VI Grammar School Shrewsbury) is an public school, located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Gonville and Caius College Cambridge is a constituent College of Cambridge University, one of the world's most academically respected institutions
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He was 40 years old, and a Temporary Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps, British Army, attached to 6th Battalion, The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The Royal Army Medical Corps ( RAMC) is a specialist Corps in the British Army which provides Medical services to all British Army The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's was an Infantry Regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All
Between 31 July and 1 August 1917 at Ypres, Belgium, Captain Ackroyd worked continuously, utterly regardless of danger, tending the wounded and saving the lives of officers and men in the front line. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Ypres ( French, generally used in English French ipʁ English ˈiːprə Ieper (official name in Dutch, pronounced /ˈiːpər/ or Ypern The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those In so doing he had to move across the open under heavy machine-gun, rifle and shell fire. On one occasion he carried a wounded officer to a place of safety under heavy fire, and on another went some way in front of the advanced line and brought in a wounded man under continuous sniping. He was killed in action ten days later.
He was killed in action, Glencorse Wood, Ypres, Belgium, on 11 August 1917. Ypres ( French, generally used in English French ipʁ English ˈiːprə Ieper (official name in Dutch, pronounced /ˈiːpər/ or Ypern The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
Further information
VC medal returned to family from Army Services Medical Museum in 1994.
The medal
The medal was sold to private buyer in 2004. The money from the sale has been used to endow four scholarships and an annual memorial lecture at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge at which Ackroyd received his medical training.
References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War - Passchendaele 1917 (Stephen Snelling, 1998)
See also
The Medical VC's. Monuments to Courage Victoria Cross Monuments and Headstones is a two-volume book by David Harvey, published in 1999 on the last resting places of 1322 of the 1350 The Register of the Victoria Cross is a Reference work that provides brief information on every VC ever awarded it provides a summary of the deed along The following eleven soldiers received the Victoria Cross as a result of deeds during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 during World War I: Published by the RAMC Museum 1983
External links
- Captain H. Ackroyd
- Burial location of Harold Ackroyd "Belgium"
- News Item "Harold Ackroyd's Victoria Cross sold privately"
- Harold Ackroyd on Pipl Directory
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