Cyril Royston Guyton Bassett Cyril Royston Guyton Bassett ( 3 January 1892 – 9 January 1983 ) was a New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross ( VC ) , 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 the first New Zealander to be awarded the VC in the First World War . Early life . Cyril Bassett was born on 3 January 1892 in Auckland , New Zealand to a printer and his wife . After completing his formal education , Bassett worked as a clerk for the National Bank of New Zealand . He joined the Volunteer Force in 1909 and was assigned to the Auckland College Rifles . Two years later he transferred to the Auckland Divisional Signal Company . First World War . When the First World War broke out , it was Bassett ' s intention to join the Royal Navy . However , his mother , from a family with a history of service in the British Army , convinced him to enlist in the New Zealand Military Forces . Bassett was not particularly tall and was initially rejected due to his lack of height . He persisted with his attempt to enlist and eventually joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force ( NZEF ) as a sapper in the New Zealand Divisional Signal Company . Bassett embarked with the main body of the NZEF for the Middle East in October 1914 . Initially based in Egypt , after a period of training , he landed at ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915 , the opening day of the Gallipoli Campaign . He along with the other signalers of his unit , were immediately set to work laying communication lines . In early May , his courage under fire was noted in consideration for a gallantry medal . Later in the campaign , Bassett was promoted to corporal . In August 1915 a series of offensives were planned and carried out against Turkish positions along the Gallipoli front . On 7 August , the New Zealand Infantry Brigade attacked Chunuk Bair , a prominent hill overlooking the battle field . The battle lasted for three days , during which Bassett , in command of a section of five other signalers of his unit , laid down and maintained telephone lines between the brigade ' s headquarters and the front lines . He braved continuous gunfire during this time . Although not wounded , bullets passed close enough that his tunic was twice pierced . After the battle , he was nominated for the Victoria Cross ( VC ) for his actions . The citation for Bassett ' s Victoria Cross read as follows : A few days after the battle , Bassett was evacuated from Gallipoli due to his poor health . Suffering from dysentery , he spent several months recuperating in England . He eventually rejoined his unit , by then on the Western Front in France as part of the New Zealand Division , in June 1916 . He participated in the Battle of the Somme the following September . A year later he was commissioned as a second lieutenant . He was wounded twice during his time in France . He returned to New Zealand in late 1918 as the NZEF started demobilising and was formally discharged from the NZEF in 1919 . Interwar period . Bassett returned to his banking career after the war , managing branches of the National Bank in Auckland and later in Paeroa . He retained a link to the military , joining the Territorial Force . He was placed on the retired list of officers in 1929 . By 1939 he was manager of the Auckland Town Hall branch of the National Bank . He had also married , his union with Ruth Louise Grant producing two daughters . Second World War . Recalled to duty in the Military Reserve as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War , Bassett was called up for active duty in 1941 as a captain in the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals . He was not required to serve overseas and instead he worked in signals while remaining in New Zealand . Promoted to major in February 1942 , his active war service ended in December 1943 . By then he had achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel and was commander of Northern Military District Signals . Later life . Bassett returned to the Military Reserve and eventually retired from the military in 1948 . He once again returned to his banking profession . He retired in 1952 but remained active in the community of Devonport , Auckland as a justice of the peace . He died in Stanley Bay , Auckland on 9 January 1983 , shortly after his 91st birthday . He was survived by his two daughters and his wife . His VC , gifted to the Corps of Signals upon his death , is displayed at the Auckland War Memorial Museum . According to his daughter , Bassett rarely spoke about his achievements as " " It just wasn ' t done " " , and in fact , she did not learn of her father ' s award until Gallipoli was the subject of her primary school class studies . He was modest of his achievements and expressed embarrassment at being the only New Zealand VC recipient of the Gallipoli Campaign . Legacy . Bassett remains the only signaler to have been awarded the VC and was a lifetime member of the Corps of Signals Association . Every year the Bassett Memorial Trophy is awarded to the most outstanding corporal , Bassett ' s rank at the time of winning the VC , in the Corps of Signals . The trophy is a statue of Bassett on Chunuk Bair .