Frank Alexander de Pass
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Frank Alexander de Pass VC (26 April 1887 - 25 November 1914) 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 the first Jewish recipient of a VC during World War I.
He was 27 years old, and a Lieutenant in the 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse, Indian Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 24 November 1914 near Festubert, France, Lieutenant de Pass entered a German sap and destroyed a traverse in the face of the enemy's bombs. Subsequently he rescued, under heavy fire, a wounded man who was lying exposed to enemy bullets in the open. Lieutenant de Pass lost his life in a second attempt to capture the sap which had been reoccupied by the enemy.
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London.
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War - 1914 (Gerald Gliddon, 1994)
