Capt. John Niel Randle VC.
British Army 2nd Btn. Royal Norfolk Regiment
from:Holywell, Oxford
(d.6th Mary 1944)
John Randle was the son of Dr. Herbert Niel Randle and Edith Randle; husband of Mavis Ellen Randle, of Holywell, Oxford. He qualified in Final Honour School in Law for the degree of B.A. (Oxon). He died on the 6th May 1944, age 26 and is buried in grave 2. C. 8 in the Kohima War Cemetery in India.
The citation for his VC was published in the London Gazette on the 8th of December 1944:- "On the 4th May, 1944, at Kohima in Assam, a battalion of the Norfolk Regiment attacked the Japanese. Captain Randle took over command of the company which was leading the attack. His handling of a difficult situation was masterly, and although wounded himself he continued to inspire his men until the company captured its objective. He then brought in all the wounded men who were lying outside the perimeter. Captain Randle refused to be evacuated, and despite his wound carried out a personal reconnaissance with great daring, prior to a further attack on the new enemy positions. At dawn on 6th May Captain Randle led this attack, and ran into heavy fire from a bunker. Appreciating that the destruction of this enemy post was imperative, if the operation was to succeed, Captain Randle charged the Japanese post single-handed. Although now mortaly wounded, he silenced the gun with a grenade thrown through the bunker slit. He then flung his body across the slit so that the aperture should be completely sealed. The bravery shown by this officer could not have been surpassed, and by his self-sacrifice he saved the lives of many of his men and enabled not only his own company but the whole battalion to gain its objective and win a decisive victory over the enemy."
