Ivor Rees
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Ivor Rees VC (18 October 1893 – 11 March 1967) was a Welsh 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
Ivor enlisted into the 11th, South Wales Borderers, part of the 115th Brigade, 38th Welsh Division. Ivor survived the fighting at Mametz Wood, and moved with the Division to Ypres. At Ypres, the Battalion were tasked with the capture of the Pilckem Ridge -a heavily fortified German defensive line.
London Gazetted on 14th September 1917 his citation read;
‘At Pilckem, Belgium, on 31st July 1917, an enemy machine gun inflicted many casualties when it opened fire at close range. Sergeant Rees, leading his platoon, gradually worked his way round the right flank, by making short rushes, to the rear of the gun position. At 20 yards from the machine gun, Sergeant Rees rushed forward towards it, shooting one of the crew, and bayoneting the other. He bombed a large concrete emplacement, killing five of the enemy and taking 30 prisoners, including two officers and capturing a machine gun, undamaged.’
[edit] Further information
In the Second World War, he served as a Company Sergeant-Major in the Home Guard, and died on 12th March 1967 at Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Ivor Rees is remembered on Memorials in Havard Chapel, Brecon Cathedral and at Llanelli Town Hall, Carmarthenshire.
[edit] The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the South Wales Borderers Museum (Brecon, Powys, Wales).
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War - Passchendaele 1917 (Stephen Snelling, 1998)
[edit] External links
- Location of grave and VC medal (West Glamorgan, Wales)
- Ivor Rees at Find A Grave
