Charles Edward Hudson Major General Charles Edward Hudson ( 29 May 1892 – 4 April 1959 ) 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 . Early life and career . Charles Edward Hudson was born on 29 May 1892 , the son of Lieutenant - Colonel H . E . Hudson . He was educated at a Prep School in East Grinstead , Surrey , and later at Sherborne School , Dorset , which he attended ( The Green ) from September 1905 to July 1910 . Charles did not stand out during his time at Sherborne School . He later recounted in his biography , " Two Lives 1892 - 1992 " , that being morbidly afraid of physical pain he was " terribly conscious of being a coward on the football field " and that it was not until he had been at Sherborne for some years that he was able to overcome these physical fears . After leaving Sherborne School , Hudson went to Sandhurst but was unable to finish the course owing to the death of his father . Instead he went to Ceylon and from 1912 to 1914 worked as a rubber planter . On the outbreak of the First World War he returned to England and was granted a commission in the Sherwood Foresters ( Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment ) 2nd Bn . , with whom he served in France and Italy , to the rank of temporary Lieutenant - Colonel . During this time he received numerous military honours : in 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross , in 1917 the DSO and bar , and in 1918 the Victoria Cross . He was also mentioned in despatches five times and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Italian Silver Medal for Valour . At just the age of 26 , Hudson was one of the youngest Old Shirburnians to be awarded the Victoria Cross . VC action . Hudson was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the First World War : On 15 June 1918 near Asiago , Italy , the 26 year - old Hudson was a lieutenant colonel in the Sherwood Foresters ( The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment ) , British Army , Commander 11th Battalion . During an attack when the enemy had penetrated the front line , Lieutenant Colonel Hudson collected and personally led various headquarter details such as orderlies , servants , runners , etc . to deal with the situation . He rushed a position with only two men , shouting to the enemy to surrender , some of whom did . He was severely wounded by a bomb that exploded on his foot . In great pain he gave directions for a successful counter - attack that captured about 100 prisoners and six machine - guns . For this , he was awarded the Victoria Cross . The citation appeared in " The London Gazette Supplement " , 11 July 1918 Subsequent career and death . After the First World War , Hudson was made in 1932 a PSC , brevet Lieutenant - Colonel ( K . O . S . B . ) . He became a Chief Instructor at the R . M . C . 1933 - 1936 . From 1938 to 1940 , Hudson commanded 2nd Brigade , including during the Battle of France . He was GOC 46th Division from December 1940 to May 1941 , but never again held a division al command . He was Aide - de - camp to the King from 1944 until his retirement in 1946 . He was awarded the Order of St John of Jerusalem ( Commander ) . He died on 4 April 1959 . An obituary for Brigadier Charles Edward Hudson was published in the " Old Shirburnian Society Annual Report " , September 1959 : " The decorations bestowed on Charles Edward Hudson themselves give proof of his calibre as a soldier : V . C . , C . B . , D . S . O and bar , M . C . , Croix de Guerre , and Italian Silver Medal for Valour . He was a graduate of the Staff College , had been the Chief Instructor at the Royal Military College , Sandhurst from 1933 to 1936 , had commanded a Battalion and Infantry Brigade and from 1944 to 1946 was an A . D . C . to the King . In 1949 he became the Devon County Commissioner of St Johns Ambulance Brigade and later , Chairman of the Order of St John in Devon . His two sons were both Shirburnians - J . P . C . Hudson ( Harper House 1936 - 1940 ) was killed in action in North Africa in 1943 , and M . M . L . Hudson ( Harper House 1939 - 1943 ) is a Major in the 12th Royal Lancers . His brother T . H . Hudson was at The Green from 1903 to 1906 . It was most fitting that such a distinguished Shirburnian whose own son was amongst those whose memory was there to be perpetuated , should perform the ceremony opening the Big Schoolroom on 10 November 1956 . His speech on that occasion will still be fresh in the minds of those who heard it . " His medals are on display at Nottingham Castle .