Reginald Judson 1918 — Bapaume, France

Aucklander Sergeant Reginald Judson was one of New Zealand’s most decorated soldiers.

In just over a month — from July 24 to August 26, 1918 — he won the Military Medal, the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Victoria Cross.

The VC, the last of the three, was awarded for his gallantry near Bapaume. He had led a small grenade-throwing group who, under heavy fire, captured a machinegun.

Judson carried on alone up a trench, bombing three more machinegun crews, before leaping up out of the trench and ordering 12 men to surrender. They shot at him but missed. Judson threw a grenade and leapt amongst them, killing two in close combat. The rest fled.

“They must have got the wind up,” Judson recalled, after his hero’s welcome in Auckland.

Promoted to second lieutenant in

1919, Judson remained in the Army for some years after the war. He later did a variety of jobs, was elected to the Auckland City Council, and served in New Zealand during World War II, reaching the rank of major.