Arthur Forbes Gordon Kilby
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Arthur Forbes Gordon Kilby VC MC (3 February 1885 - 25 September 1915) 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.
[edit] Details
He was 30 years old, and a captain in the 2nd Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 25 September 1915 near Cuinchy, France, Captain Kilby was selected, at his own request, to attack with his company a strong enemy redoubt. The company charged along the narrow towpath, headed by the captain, who, although wounded at the outset, continued to lead his men right up to the enemy wire under a devastating machine-gun fire and a shower of bombs. Here he was shot down, but although his foot had been blown off, he continued to cheer his men on and to use his rifle. He was missing after this action and was later presumed killed.
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915 (Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999)
