Ernest Beachcroft Beckwith Towse
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Ernest Beachcroft Beckwith Towse (VC, KCVO, CBE) 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.
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[edit] Details
He was 35 years old, and a captain in the 1st Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders, British Army during the South African War (Boer War) when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 11 December 1899 at Magersfontein, South Africa, during a retirement, Captain Towse helped a mortally wounded colonel and although close to the front of the firing line, supported him until help arrived. On 30 April 1900 Captain Towse and 12 men confronted a party of about 150 Boers on the top of Mount Thaba, far from any support. The greatly outnumbered group were called on to surrender, but the captain ordered his men to open fire and remained firing himself until he was severely wounded (both eyes shattered) and they succeeded in driving off the enemy.
[edit] Further information
Served in the First World War 1914-18.
[edit] The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Gordon Highlanders Museum (Aberdeen, Scotland).
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)
- Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 2000)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Location of grave and VC medal (Oxfordshire)
- Find-A-Grave biography
This page has been migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference with permission.
