Roy Inwood Reginald Roy Inwood VC ( 14 July 1890 – ) was an Australian 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 . He was 27 years old , and a Private in the 10th Battalion ( S . A . ) , Australian Imperial Force during the First World War when he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross . Early life . Born 14 July 1890 at North Adelaide , the eldest son of Edward Henry Inwood and his wife Mary Anne ( Minney ) . The family later moved to Broken Hill where , after leaving school , he began work in the local mines . Inwood enlisted in the 1st AIF , 10th Infantry Battalion on 24 August 1914 and on 20 October he embarked for Egypt where he took part in the Gallipoli Campaign landings . His battalion was in the first wave of the landing at Anzac Cove . World War I . Inwood was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions during the period 19 – 22 September 1917 in an attack at Polygon Wood , near Ypres , Belgium during the Battle of Menin Road : He later achieved the rank of Sergeant . Inwood ' s two younger brothers also served and saw action on the Western Front . Pte Harold Ray Inwood , 43rd Bn , returned to Australia in 1917 ; while Sergeant Robert Minney Inwood , also of the 10th Bn , fought at Gallipoli and was killed in action on the second day of the Battle of Pozières on 24 July 1916 at the age of twenty . Post - war life . Inwood returned to a hero ' s welcome in Broken Hill in October 1918 but at an event organised in his honour gave a controversial public speech . He claimed he had " " been stoned by mongrels at the train " " when he had departed to fight and with his return " " those mongrels were the first to shake me by the hand " " . He told the crowd " " I would like to be at one end of the street with a machine - gun and have them at the other end " " . In the House of Representatives Rep Michael Considine accused Inwood of trying " " to incite trouble between returned soldiers and the working classes " " . No longer welcome in Broken Hill Inwood moved to Adelaide where he found difficulty finding work . Inwood married a 23 year old widow , Mabel Alice Collins Weber on 31 December 1918 but they divorced in 1921 , whereupon he moved to Queenstown , Tasmania to work in the mines . He later moved to Kangaroo Island where he worked in a Eucalyptus distillery . Inwood married Evelyn Owens in 1927 and following her death married Louise Elizabeth Gates in 1942 . Returning to Adelaide in 1928 he was employed as a labourer by the Adelaide City Council until 1955 when he retired . During World War II , Inwood served as a warrant officer with the Australian Militia Force . Inwood died on 23 October 1971 , given a military funeral he was buried at the West Terrace AIF Cemetery , Adelaide , South Australia . Memorial controversies . In his will Roy Inwood bequeathed all his war medals to the 10th Battalion Club who , when informed , indicated they would donate the Victoria Cross itself to the Australian War Memorial . Inwood objected and stated he wanted the medal to remain in Adelaide . In June 1971 , with Inwood ' s consent , the VC was presented to the City of Adelaide . The VC was stored in the high security vault in the Council ’ s Archives while a replica was put on display . In 2005 Inwood ' s VC became the centre of considerable media and community debate with calls for it to be displayed in the Australian War Memorial ' s national Victoria Cross Collection . After consulting with the Inwood family and other interested parties , it was decided to honour Inwood ’ s dying wishes . In December 2005 funds were allocated to provide security so the original Victoria Cross could be displayed in the Adelaide Town Hall instead of the replica . In 2007 the debate briefly reignited and the matter remains a " touchy " subject . The Other Ranks Mess at the Torrens Parade Ground , Adelaide , is called the Roy Inwood Club . In 2008 it was debated whether to call the new tunnel under Anzac Highway either " Inwood Underpass " or " Blackburn Underpass " after another South Australian who won a VC in 1916 , Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn . The Returned and Services League of Australia objected to naming the tunnel after a specific veteran as inappropriate saying it should be named after a major World War I battle ground in line with the highways World War I memorial theme . On completion , the tunnel was named the " Gallipoli Underpass " .