  maurice james dease vc (28 september 1889 &ndash; 23 august 1914) was a british army officer during the first world war. he was one of the first british officer battle casualties of the war and the first posthumous recipient of the victoria cross in the war. ==career==  dease was born on 28 september 1889 in gaulstown, coole, county westmeath, ireland to edmund fitzlaurence and katherine murray dease. he was educated at stonyhurst college and the army department of wimbledon college before attending the royal military college, sandhurst. he was 24 years old, and a lieutenant in the 4th battalion, the royal fusiliers, and was awarded the vc for his actions on 23 august 1914, at mons, belgium.profile, oldwimbledonians.com; accessed 30 september 2014. nimy bridge was being defended by a single company of the 4th royal fusiliers and a machine-gun section with dease in command. the gun fire was intense, and the casualties very heavy, but the lieutenant went on firing in spite of his wounds, until he was hit for the fifth time and was carried away.  dease won the first victoria cross to be awarded in the great war, 1914â1918, and he also won it on the first day of the first significant british encounter in that war. dease is buried at st symphorien military cemetery, belgium. when lieutenant dease had been mortally wounded, private sidney godley offered to defend the railway bridge while the rest of the section retre
1889_births 1914_deaths British_Army_personnel_of_World_War_I British_Army_recipients_of_the_Victoria_Cross British_military_personnel_killed_in_World_War_I Graduates_of_the_Royal_Military_College,_Sandhurst Irish_World_War_I_recipients_of_the_Victoria_Cross Irish_officers_in_the_British_Army People_educated_at_Stonyhurst_College People_from_County_Westmeath Royal_Fusiliers_officers