VC heroes honoured by their home town
THREE heroes awarded Britain’s highest honour for gallantry have been further recognised with a home town memorial.
Edward Lawson, John Aidan Liddell and Adam Herbert Wakenshaw are the only three Newcastleborn men to have been awarded the Victoria Cross - the highest award the nation can give.
It has been received by only 1,355 people in history.
The memorial, a granite plinth mounted with cast metal plaques, is located at the foot of the steps on which a Challenger tank sits in the plaza outside the Discovery Museum in the city’s, Blandford Square.
The unveiling was attended by a number of the VC winners’ families who read out their citations.
Among them was Barry Lawson, 75, of Gosforth, Newcastle, the grandson of Edward Lawson.
He said: “As a family we’re extremely proud. We thought the memorial was absolutely superb and the whole service was conducted really, really well. A lot of work was put into it.”
Also there the was the Lord Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear Susan Winfield OBE; the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Coun Linda Wright and Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah.
Ms Onwurah said: “This is a truly beautiful memorial to three incredibly brave men, honoured by their country and now by our city.
“Hearing their families read out the citations was incredibly moving. It is important to remember the bravery and sacrifices of previous generations as a mark of respect but also as a source of inspiration as we face our own challenges today.”
In October 1897, a battle was fought at Dargai Heights, in what is now Pakisatn, during which 199 of the British force were killed or wounded.
It was there that Edward Lawson, then 24 and part of the Gordon Highlanders, carried a badly injured officer, Lieutenant Dingwall, to safety. He then returned to rescue a Private McMillan, disregarding his own wounds. Lawson himself said he received ‘a couple of scratches’ during the episode.
Captain John Aidan Liddell was a pilot in July 1915. While over Ostend-Bruges-Ghent, Belgium, Liddell’s aircraft was raked by machine gun fire and Liddell was severely wounded in his right thigh.
This caused momentary unconsciousness, but he recovered partial control of his machine when it had dropped nearly 3,000 feet and succeeded, although fired on, in bringing the plane back into the Allied lines.
The control wheel and throttle were smashed as was part of the undercarriage and cockpit, but the machine and life of the observer were saved.
After having his leg removed and suffering septic poisoning, Capt Liddell died a month later in Flanders, Belgium, aged 27
Adam Wakenshaw was a private in the 9th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry during the Second World War, and was awarded his VC for his actions in June 1942 in Mersa Matruh, Egypt.
He was manning a 20-pounder tank gun with crew when the Germans attacked with intense mortar and shell fire.
Pte Wakenshaw’s gun knocked out one enemy artillery vehicle, but it was hit when another German mobile gun opened fire, killing all the British gunner crew apart from himself and Pte Eric Mohn. Pte Wakenshaw suffered horrific wounds and his left arm above the elbow was blown off.
But incredibly, as the Germans began to advance, he dragged himself to the gun and fired five more rounds, destroying another enemy vehicle.
A second enemy shell threw him away from the gun again and seriously wounded him even further, while Pte Mohn was killed.
For a second time, a badly disfigured Pte Wakenshaw managed to drag himself back to the gun.
But as he loaded another round and prepared to fire, he was killed when his ammunition store suffered a direct hit. He was 28.
Mr Lawson said all the VC winners were from the city ‘s West End.
He said: “I think there’s a song the west end boys are back in town. They certainly are now.”
See pages 10&11 for the true life story of Lt Col David Silvertop