Douglas Walter Belcher

Douglas Walter Belcher
v.c.
Born 15 July 1889
Surbiton, Surrey
Died 3 June 1953(1953-06-03) (aged 63)
Claygate, Surrey
Buried at Holy Trinity Churchyard, Claygate
Allegiance  United Kingdom/British Empire
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1914 - 1922, 1939 - 1940
Rank Captain
Unit London Regiment
King's Royal Rifle Corps
Royal Army Pay Corps
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Victoria Cross

Douglas Walter Belcher v.c. (15 July 1889 – 3 June 1953) 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.

Early life

Douglas Walter Belcher was born on 30 of June 1889 in Surbiton, in the county of Surrey, England. He received his education at Tiffin Boys School in Kingston upon Thames.[1] in 1914 he was employed as a furniture salesman in Surbiton

World War I

He volunteered pre-war as Rifleman No.9539 with the 5th London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade), T.F., in March 1913, and was mobilized on Great Britain's declaration of war on 4 August 1914. He entered France with the Regiment's 1st Battalion in November 1914, and was a awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Battle of 2nd Ypres in May 1915 whilst a sergeant. On returning to England in mid-1915 he was presented with the medal by King George V at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in July 1915, and was promoted to the rank of Company Sergeant-Major[2] and served as a training officer with the London Rifle Brigade's 3rd Battalion, until receiving a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 3rd Battalion of the 8th London Regiment (Post Office Rifles), T.F., in February 1916.[3] He married Miss Emily Francis Luxford in Surbiton in January 1917.[4] He was subsequently assigned as a training officer at the Depot of the 1/6th Gurkha Rifles.[5] He re-enlisted as a professional soldier with the British Army post-war, and saw Imperial service in the Middle East during the 1920 Iraqi Revolt, and subsequently in Burma.[6] He was discharged from the British Army in 1922.[7]

Award of the Victoria Cross

Belcher was awarded the Victoria Cross for heroism in action with the London Rifle Brigade during the 2nd Battle of Ypres in April 1915, when he was 25 years of age.

Citation

On 13 May 1915, south of the Wieltje St. Julien Road, Belgium, Belcher was in charge of a portion of an advanced breastwork during continuous bombardment by the enemy. With very few men, Belcher elected to remain and try to hold his position after the troops near him had been withdrawn, and with great skill he succeeded in his objective, opening rapid fire on the enemy, who were only 150-200 yards away, whenever he saw them collecting for an attack. This bold action prevented the enemy breaking through and averted an attack on the flank of one of our divisions.[8]

He was the second member of the British Army's Territorial Force to receive the medal, Lieutenant Geoffrey Woolley having been first awarded it during the fighting at 2nd Ypres a few days earlier.

Medals issued in World War 1

Belcher was issued with the 1914 Star, the British War Medal, Victory Medal along with the Victoria Cross (which is today displayed at the Royal Green Jackets Museum in Winchester, Hampshire, England).

Later life

Belcher suffered from ill health in his middle years, and went through a number of occupations, from running a grocery shop in Kent, farming in the county of Suffolk, to clerical work in the City of London. His first marriage produced two sons, but was divorced in the mid 1930's. On the outbreak of World War II he briefly re-enlisted with the British Army, but was discharged soon afterwards through injury and ill health. He re-married in London in 1941, and was resident in Surbiton post-war.[9]

Death

He died on 3 June 1953 aged 63. His body was buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, in Claygate, Surrey.[10][11]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.tiffinschool.co.uk/ota/tiffnews/March2008.pdf "Newsletter of the Old Tiffinians’ Association No. 235", March 2008
  2. ↑ 'supplement to the London Gazette, 17 February 1916, P.1795.
  3. ↑ World War 1 Medal Card Index, National Archive, Kew, Surrey, order code: WO 372/2/79867
  4. ↑ 'Daily Record', 1 February 1917 (Pub Lanarkshire, Scotland).
  5. ↑ Medal Cards Index, National Archive, Kew, Surrey.
  6. ↑ 'Memorial Stone for Surbiton v.c. hero', 'Your Local Guardian' newspaper (Pub. Kingston-Upon-Thames), 28 February 2015.
  7. ↑ 'V.C's of the First World War, 1915' by P. Batchelor and C. Matson (Pub. The History Press, 2012).
  8. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29202. p. 6115. 22 June 1915. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  9. ↑ 'V.C's of the First World War - 1915', by Batchelor & Matson (Pub. The History Press, 2012).
  10. ↑ Grave of Douglas Belcher. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10295149
  11. ↑ "Grave Location For Holders Of The Victoria Cross In The County Of: Surrey"
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.