Great Stories Of The Victoria Cross.

James M Sandbrook

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Great Stories Of The Victoria Cross

Reviewed by James M Sandbrook - ‎Tuesday, ‎3 ‎June ‎2003, ‏‎2:39:14 PM.

First published in Great Britain by

Arthur Barker Limited

11 St John's Hall, London sw11

ISBN 0 213 16644 5

Photoset by Weatherby Woolnough,

Wellingborough, Northants.

Printed in Great Britain by

Morrison & Gibb Ltd, London and Edinburgh.

192 pages.

Contents:

Gallipoli 43

Eight VCs awarded to Indian Army Units In France 55

Mesopotamia 61

Jutland 1916 66

The Honourable Artillery Company 68

The Tragedy Of The Somme 70

The Famous Fighter Pilots 79

Commander Gordon Campbell And The "Q" Ships 84

Five Padre VCs 92

The Model Battle Of Hamel 96

Between The Two World Wars 99

The Sinking Of HMS Glowworm 109

The Western Desert 116

The Three VCs And Bars 120

The St Nazaire Raid 128

The Battle Of Wadi Akarit 130

The Dam Busters 134

This is a book that's about courage and the courage a soldier needs to achieve a task at wartime.

When your world is attacked by some army then people need to get together to fight against this common enemy and stop the attack, this book is about those people who are thrown into a situation they probably never dreamed that they would be in ten years earlier, and yet fight they must, to protect their love ones back home.

These people face very dangerous situations that you and I can only read about, these people must face danger and face it bravely and without hesitation, with strength and courage that's well beyond the call of duty.

This book was written about those that were awarded the Victoria Cross and their courage.

This decoration has not been given out often and during a period of 123 years only 1351 were given out.

Queen Victoria wanted this award for 'gallantry in battle' to be "highly prized and eagerly sought after'.

This book has 32 stories of the Victoria Cross, the first starts with the Brigade at Balaclava in the year 1854 and then on to the World Wars.

This is an amazing book which I thourally enjoyed reading and I found I was amazed at what lengths people would go to help a friend or fight for their loved ones and country, for peace and justice.

Many of the people who received the Victoria Cross died before they got it, which is sad, but the things they did were beyond the call of duty and they should be remembered in some way for the great strength they showed in the line of fire.

Example:

Here is a small excerpt from the write up about Lieutenant William David Kenny.

'Obeying the frontier code of never leaving a wounded man to the tender mercies of the tribesmen he at once ordered the platoon he was with to turn about, fix bayonets and charge the rapidly pursuing Mahsuds. It was, of course, certain death and Kenny and all his party was killed - but the wounded were carried to safety.

Kenny was awarded a very well deserved posthumous Victoria Cross.'

The book is dedicated to The Queen who has been the Gracious Patron of The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association.

The book has some illustrations which show many of the people who have received the Victoria Cross.

The book was written by Brigadier The Rt Hon Sir John Smyth, Bt, VC, MC.

I like the way the book is put together and the way the author explains the different situations that came to a person getting the Victoria Cross, you get a good understanding about what built up to the event and what happened to complete the saga.

Its definitely a book where you "feel" the waste that war brings but you also have to admire the people that fought for us and our freedom.

The amazing story of The Dam Busters is told in this book on page 134 - Chapter 25.

This was a movie of the same name, a heroic tale about Wing Commander Guy Gibson, aged 25, he had won a DSO and a DFC and bar.

Guy Gibson joined the RAF at the tender age of eighteen in 1936, and was a participant of the first bombing attack of the war on the Kiel Canel. By 'the war' we mean the Second World War.

'He achieved outstanding successful results and his personal courage knew no bounds. He had the unusual combination of qualities, being an inspiring leader and at the same time a meticulous tactical planner.'

With a team he chose himself they were given a special assignment:

'Every possible priority was given to them and in a few days the new squadron personal were all assembled - twenty-one crews, comprising 147 men, pilots, navigators, wireless operators, bomb aimers and flight engineers.'

Guy Gibson was told that they would have to make a low level attack in the dark in two months time, by low level they meant flying at only sixty feet over water and they could only drop a heavy specially made bomb from each bomber. They would be flying Lancaster's, sixteen of them in total.

Guy and his crew had to practise constantly in Scotland, England and Wales. Many difficulties had to be overcome before they could do the 'real drop'.

They had to attack three dams, why attack dams? Because that would cut of the power supply that the enemy would desperately need.

Guy Gibson and his crew were very brave and the story is amazing and full of courageous men.

Its worth reading.

All in all this is a good book to read for young people as it shows them what the mind can believe the mind can achieve, because if these brave young people who received the Victoria Cross didn't believe that they would succeed then they would not have attempted the things that they did.

A good book for remembering real hero's.

Highly recommended.