1206321 Cpl. Allan Leonard Lewis VCBritish Army 6th Btn. Northamptonshire Regiment from:Whitney-on-Wye, Herefordshire (d.21st September 1918) Allan Lewis was killed in action on 21st September 1918, aged 23 and is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial in France.
He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Lewis, of Wyeside, Whitney-on-Wye, Herefordshire
An extract from the London Gazette, dated 28th Jan., 1919, records the following:- "For most conspicuous bravery at Ronssoy on the 18th September, 1918, when in command of a section on the right of an attacking line held up by intense machine gun fire. L./Cpl. Lewis observing that two enemy machine guns were enfilading the line, crawled forward singlehanded, and successfully bombed the guns, and by rifle fire later caused the whole team to surrender, thereby enabling the line to advance. On 21st September, 1918, he again displayed great powers of command, and, having rushed his company through the enemy barrage, was killed whilst getting his men under cover from heavy machine gun fire. Throughout he showed a splendid disregard of danger, and his leadership at a critical period was beyond all praise." Additional Information: | Allan remains Herefordshire's only county-born VC recipient. It is the intention of the Allan Leonard Lewis VC Memorial Fund to commission a statue of him to be unveiled in Hereford in September 2018 to mark the centenary of his award. www.facebook.com/lewisvcmemorialfund
The statue will also serve to commemorate all Herefordians who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War.Dawn Lewis
|
|