caption serviceyears branch death_place death_date birth_place unit image_size awards battles birth_date placeofburial rank image article_title name
the ashcroft gallery , imperial war museum medals of harry cator on display at the 1914 - 1947 23px british army norwich , norfolk 7 april 1966 drayton , norfolk the east surrey regiment home guard 225 victoria -rrb- cross military medal croix de guerre -lrb- france world war i world war ii 24 january 1894 sprowston cemetery captain the one - the great war.jpg medals earned by harry cator during world war harry cator
 harry cator
harry cator

harry cator vc , mm -lrb- 24 january 1894 -- 7 april 1966 -rrb- 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 .
he was born in drayton in norfolk to a railway worker .
after leaving school , he was a porter on the london midland and great northern joint line before joining a building contractor in great yarmouth .
he joined the british army in september 1914 , and arrived on the western front in june 1915 already a sergeant in the 7th battalion , the east surrey regiment .
in 1916 at the time of the somme offensive , he was awarded the military medal for bringing back 36 wounded men from no-mans land .
he earned his vc during the arras offensive .
on 9 april 1917 near arras , sergeant cator 's platoon had suffered heavy casualties from a hostile machine-gun .
under heavy fire the sergeant , with one man , advanced across the open to attack the gun and when his companion was killed , he went on alone .
picking up a lewis gun and some ammunition drums on his way , he succeeded in reaching the enemy trench and sighting another hostile machine-gun , he killed the entire team and the officer .
he held the end of the trench with such effect that a bombing squad were able to capture 100 prisoners and five machine-guns .
a few days later he was injured by an exploding shell .
it was shortly after that the award of the vc and the french croix de guerre were announced .
after the war he worked as a postman and as a civil servant .
cator served with the rank of captain in the home guard during the second world war , and was commandant for a prisoner-of-war camp .
he retired from the army in december 1947 .
he died in 1966 in norwich on 7 april and is buried in sprowston cemetery .
his vc medal is one of many in the lord ashcroft gallery at the imperial war museum .
