Samuel Meekosha

Major Samuel Meekosha (later Ingham), VC was an English officer of the British Army who served during the First and Second World Wars. In 1915, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in the British and Commonwealth armed forces.
He was born on 16 September 1893, in Leeds, the son of Polish-born tailor Alexander and Mary Meekosha (née Cunningham). The family moved to Bradford soon after Samuel's birth. After attending St Joseph's Roman Catholic School and Bradford Technical College, Meekosha was employed as an office worker at a manufacturing company. He enlisted in February 1911, in the 6th Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment, and accompanied it to the Western Front in April 1915.Batchelor, Peter F. (2012), VCs of the First World War 1915 The Western Front: 1915 The Western Front.
It was in November 1915, near the Yser, that Meekosha, then a corporal in "B" Company, earned the Victoria Cross alongside three men who received the Distinguished Conduct Medal. His battalion had returned to the front on the 2nd, occupying isolated posts at 50 yard intervals owing to incessant rain. Despite these measures, the men in those areas still contended with two to three feet of water. On the 19th, the Germans unleashed a heavy bombardment on Pump Trench which killed six of Meekosha's platoon and buried others.Tempest, E.V. (1921/2012), History of the Sixth Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment: Volume I, p. 59. The citation of his Victoria Cross states that:
He was with a platoon of about 20 Non-Commissioned Officers and men, who were holding an isolated trench. During a very heavy bombardment by the enemy six of the platoon were killed and seven wounded, while all the remainder were more or less buried.When the senior Non-Commissioned Officers had been either killed or wounded, Corporal Meekosha at once took command, sent a runner for assistance, and, in spite of no less than 10 more big shells falling within 20 yards of him, continued to dig out the wounded and buried men in full view of the enemy and at close range from the German trenches. By his promptness and magnificent courage and determination he saved at least four lives.Returning home in January, Meekosha was heralded as a hero in Bradford, but the acclaim left him uncomfortable.VC Sale Brings New Fame to a Reluctant Hero, 16 April 2001, yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2015. At a luncheon with the town's Lord Mayor, the Times reported that 'Meekosha said he had only done what had been done by many others and what many others would.'The Times (41076), p. 11: The Modest V.C. 29 January 1916. He married Bertha Duval that year and returned to the Western Front. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in June 1917, and in October was reported wounded.Et Cetera, 27 October 1917, archive.thetablet.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2015. 
In 1919, Meekosha was promoted to captain and transferred to the Corps of Military Accountants. He retired in 1926 and bought a tobacconist's in his hometown. Debts accumulated, however, and the business had to be sold in 1929. For a while he settled in Birmingham in search of work. These difficulties left Meekosha upset at a perceived indifference from his hometown. The Meekosha family eventually moved to Wales, where Samuel became a representative of the John Player tobacco company. 
When the Second World War began, Meekosha was recalled to his old regiment as a captain,The London Gazette (34791), p. 908. 13 February 1940, thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2015. but later transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Back in the army, Meekosha grew frustrated at the attention his VC brought him, prompting him to change his name by deed poll to "Ingham" in 1942."Here and there Victoria Cross of shy hero up for auction", Scotsman, 30 April 2001. He married for a second time, in 1945, to Constance Ingham. In October 1948, he was granted the honorary rank of major after exceeding the age limit for recall.The London Gazette (38421), p. 5289. 5 October 1948, thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
He died on 8 December 1950, at Blackwood, and was cremated at Pontypridd Crematorium. His Victoria Cross was sold at auction in 2001 for £101,200 pounds. In 2015, his initials were discovered scrawled on the walls of a cave system in Naours which notably sheltered Allied troops during the Somme Offensive.Lines, Andy (2015), Somme heroes graffiti perfectly preserved after its discovery 100 years later, 12 June 2015, mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
==Notes==
==External links==
*Greenhalf, Jim (2014), Hero’s homecoming for front-line rescuer Sam (photographs), Telegraph & Argus, thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
Category:1893 births
Category:1950 deaths
Category:British military personnel
Category:British Army
Category:British people of Polish descent
Category:British people of Russian descent
Category:Majors