Cuthbert Bromley

Cuthbert Bromley

Cuthbert Bromley VC
Born 19 September 1878
Hammersmith, London, England
Died 13 August 1915 (aged 36)
Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire
Buried at Remembered on the Helles Memorial
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service - 1915
Rank Major
Unit King's Regiment (Liverpool)
The Lancashire Fusiliers
Battles/wars World War I
Awards Victoria Cross

Major Cuthbert Bromley VC (19 September 1878 – 13 August 1915) 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.

Bromley was born on 19 September 1878 in Hammersmith, London, to John Bromley and Marie Louisa Bromley. John Bromley was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) 3rd Class on 24 June 1904, moving to Sutton Corner, Seaford, East Sussex, shortly thereafter.[1]

Cuthbert was 36 years old, and was a captain and regimental adjutant in the 1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers, British Army during the First World War, and was awarded the VC for his actions on 25 April 1915, during the landings at W Beach, Gallipoli, Turkey, and during which he was wounded three times.[2]

Citation

On the 25th April, 1915, headquarters and three companies of the 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers in effecting a landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula to the West of Cape Helles, were met by very deadly fire from hidden machine guns, which caused a great number of casualties. The survivors, however, rushed up to and cut the wire entanglements, notwithstanding the terrific fire from the enemy, and after overcoming supreme difficulties, the cliffs were gained and the position maintained. Amongst the many very gallant officers and men engaged in this most hazardous undertaking, Captain Bromley, Serjeant Stubbs, and Corporal Grimshaw have been selected by their comrades as having performed the most signal acts of bravery and devotion to duty.
— The London Gazette, No. 29985, 15 March 1917[3]

Bromley was wounded during the W Beach landing, and sustained a bullet injury to the knee on 28 April. He was wounded again during the Battle of Gully Ravine on 28 June, and was evacuated to Egypt to recover. On 13 August 1915, returning to the Gallipoli peninsula aboard the troopship Royal Edward, he was killed when the ship was torpedoed in the Mediterranean between Alexandria and Gallipoli, by the UB-14.[2]

He was promoted to acting Major on 13 June and due to the illness of his commanding officer, taking command of the regiment in the Battle of Gully Ravine. Major Bromley was one of the six members of the regiment elected for the award, one of the famous 'six VC's before breakfast'.[2] Bromley is remembered in his home town of Seaford on the War Memorial, and on a brass memorial in St. Leonard's Church. A road in the town is also named after him.

Medals

Major Cuthbert Bromley was awarded the following medals.

Notes - 1. Due to the fact that Major Cuthbert Bromley died during World War I his family would have also received the Dead Man's Penny.

2. His Medals were last heard of at an auction in the 1980s and presumably have been in private hands since then.

Ribbon Description Notes
Victoria Cross (VC) 15 March 1917
Africa General Service Medal 2 Clasps
  • Aro 1901-1902
  • S Nigeria 1902
1914-15 Star
British War Medal
World War I Victory Medal

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bromley, Cuthbert, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  2. 1 2 3 Capt Cuthbert Bromley (1878 - 1915), Find A Grave Memorial
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29985. p. 2619. 15 March 1917. Retrieved 27 April 2015.

External links

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