A £20,000 project has been launched to honour Notts men who won the highest award for valour in war...
FRANCIS Wheatley was the first Nottinghamshire man to win the Victoria Cross. It was 1854 when the ex-framework knitter from Ruddington was serving with the Rifle Brigade in the Crimea. He was with his unit in the trenches when a live enemy shell fell among them.
Without hesitation, he seized hold of the shell and tried, in vain, to knock out the fuse with the butt of his rifle.
With time running out, he managed to heave the heavy shell over the parapet of the trench. It had scarcely fallen outside when it exploded.
Had it not been for his coolness, presence of mind, and his supreme courage, the shell would have exploded among the party and caused serious casualties.
Nearly 90 years later, Robert St Vincent Sherbrooke, a 41-year-old captain in the Royal Navy, became the last man from Notts to win the VC.
Capt Sherbrooke was commanding HMS Onslow, a destroyer on escort duty with a convoy heading for Russia.
On December 31, 1942, off North Cape, Norway, in the Barents Sea, he made contact with a vastly superior enemy force — the cruiser Hipper and the pocket battleship Lutzow. Four times the enemy tried to attack the convoy but was forced back each time.
Early in the action, Captain Sherbrooke was seriously wounded in the face and temporarily blinded. Nevertheless, he continued to direct the ships under his command and even when the next senior officer had assumed control, he insisted on receiving all reports of the action until the convoy was out of danger.
His actions – and the Nazi ships' failure to neutralize the convoy were pivotal for Hitler's order to scrap the Kriegsmarine in the beginning of 1943.
In the 152-year history of the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest award for valour, a total of 1,356 medals have been awarded – 20 of them to men of Nottinghamshire.
Individually, they are remembered on headstones, war memorials and church plaques.
But now plans are being drawn to provide a collective monument honouring these heroes.
A group of enthusiasts have formed the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Victoria Cross Committee, and are now beginning the task of raising £20,000 to make the monument a reality.
The committee have some experience to bring to their quest.
In 2007, they were responsible for providing a new headstone on the Wilford Hill grave of First World War VC winner John Caffrey.
Later that same year, in the General Cemetery, a headstone for Robert Humpstone, another VC winner from the Crimean War, was dedicated thanks to their efforts.
And in 2008, they returned to Wilford Hill to unveil a memorial stone for First World War hero Charles Ernest Garforth.
Committee chairman Anthony Higton said: "We believe these 20 very brave men have not received the recognition they deserve.
"We feel there should be a memorial to these men so that future generations can read and learn about their bravery."
It is expected that the project will take at least two years to complete.
As well as the fund-raising aspect, the committee will have to obtain various permissions for the design and siting of the memorial from local authorities and English Heritage.
Mr Higton said the committee hoped a location at Nottingham Castle could be found, but emphasised that nothing had yet been decided.
The monument will be made by city stonemasons Ernest Smith, and a design inspired by the Ulster Tower, which stands on the Somme, to honour the 36th (Ulster Division) is being considered.The committee is hoping for donations from regiments represented by the Notts heroes, local people and businesses.
Anyone who would like to support the project is asked to send a donation to Ben Percival c/o Ernest Smith, Sheriff House, Bath Street, Nottingham NG1 1DF, cheques to be made payable to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Victoria Cross
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/bygones/Memorial-quest-salute-valiant-VC-recipients/article-946733-detail/article.html
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