The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1916-11-30
200 VICTORIA
CROSSES WON
DURING THE WAR
Greatest Honor That Can Co; 2
TO Soldier Fighting for
Great Britain.
SOME HEROES LOSE LIVES
Deeds ef valer In Battle for Which
Men Were Decorated Make Task
More Thrilling Than Fiction
Majority From Ranks of
Workers

LOnd0n.-In the course Of the great
war nearly DO British and colonial
soldiers have won the Victoria Cross.
the greatest honor that can come 20
D man who fights for Great Britain.
Nost OF the awards have gone 20 men
OF humble station. Two Of them be-
gan life 80 doubtfully that they com
pieted their education" under the en-
forced discipline Of reformatOries and
Industrial schools Others we're quiet.
living WOrklng-class folk before the
war.
But Il r. curious % note that nearly
all Of them seem 70 have had a spice
nf the English love Of games In their
uatures-the games In which they
learned 10 be fearless of physical dan
ger and careful only for the achieve
Jnent Of whnt they had Ia view. Take
sae case Of Private James Miller. V.
a.. Of the Royal Lancashire regiment,
of whom Il In said:
HE was a great believer in keeping
cOOl They called him plodder. oRd
when he played football he suffered
from lack Of devil Once he gave a
good hiding TO a bigger fellow who
had fOulec him four times very badly.
He was a silent man and there was
nothing In his life to suggest that he
WAS anything more than very re
specthble, Woodworking paper-mlll la
borer."
But this ls what he did:
Ordered 10 take an important mes
sage under heavy shell and rife fire
and bring back n reply at all costs,
he succeeded In spite of a gaping
wound In his abdomen, which he COM
pressed with his hand. and falling dead
st the feet of the officer to whom he
delivered the message"
What Some Of Them Did.
One OF the new V. C.'s, Private
yeale. OF the Deyonshlre regiment.
coOlly went out 10 a wounded officer,
who was lying In growing corn within
10 yards OF the enemy, dragged him
10 a shell hole, went back for water,
returned, went back again and brought
pssistance, and after several attempts
covered an approaching enemy patrol
with Lewis gun and saved the Of
nicer.
When King George was at the front
recently. Private Thomas Turnbull Of
the Worcester regiment was called out
of the trenches to be spoken to by the
king. Writing home TO his mother he
said subsequently: 81 cannot tell
what passed. ! trcmbled all over" A
few days later In the middle OF fierce
Fighting he remained with his wound
ed officer for three hours under con
tinuOus fire from machine guns and
bombs, and, although at one time com
pletely cut of, he held his ground and
finally carried the officer into the Brit
Ssh lines. He was painter and paper
hanger by trade, and an enthusiastic
cycllst.
A young Yorkshire man named Don
aid Simpson Bell was schoolteach-
er at Harrognte, and footballer.
During AN attack. In heavy enfilade
fire. he crept up communication
trench. followed by two men, rushed
across the open under heavy fire. shot
gun aud personnel with bombs, saving
many lives and insuring the success
of the attack. For this he got the v.
=. lie lost his life five days later In
~ similar act OF bravery.
A Lancashire boy named James
Hutchinson was only worker In II
spinning mill when the war broke out.
kII19 Ia - nfV all Of 10
German trenches In the Somme front.
After describing the terrible rush over
she bullet-strewn No Mans Land, he
says:
Gets Seven In a Trench.
"Soon afterward reached the Ger
man trenches, quite breathless, but
was soon through "A gap In the wire,
(which our artillery had cut for us. The
first thing ! saw was big German
firing down the trench and knocking
chalk of the side. When he had fin
pshed his little game | rushed around
the traverse and put my bayonet
Through him.
There was another Boche there.
and when he saw me he commenced
10 run toward a dugout, but seemed
90 slip back step, so / promptly got
him through the head. Another was
resting on one knee, and started shout
bng for mercy. but he paid the same
penalty. / next went round another
traverse, and found three more Ger
mans, and they all met with the same
fate, either with the bayonet or rifle
bullet. Hurrying round the next ira.
verse saw about seven Huns throw
ing hand grenades ut the lads who had
mot got In the trenches, but were fight.
tng along the top.
'There was one German left "a
guard the traverse. and he tried to