During this month, each weekday I'm posting a photograph showing Cornwall's First World War.
This
is 2nd Lieutenant W H G Jessup, who was awarded the Distinguished
Service Order on 20 August 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.
His
citation reads: 'For conspicuous gallantry during operations. When the
enemy launched a heavy bomb attack on the flank of our attacking troops,
he met them with a party of eight men and drove them back. The whole
party except himself and one man became casualties. But collecting
another party he held on for 24 hours under continuous enemy fire in his
isolated position.'
The
action took place in Delville Wood while Lt Jessup was serving with 6th
Service Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. It was most
unusual for a 2nd Lieutenant to be awarded a DSO and this must have been
a special feat of bravery and leadership.
In
1918, Captain (as he had become) Jessup, who by then had also been
awarded the French Croix de Guerre, was wounded. Sent home to Britain,
he later died from his wounds.
The oil painting above of Lieutenant Jessup, by Stanley Llewelyn Wood, hangs in Cornwall’s Regimental Museum. The museum tells the story of the Duchy's Regiment from 1702 until the present date; its displays cover the Duke of Cornwall’s
Light Infantry, the volunteers and volunteer militia
and the successor Regiment, The Light Infantry: http://www.cornwalls-regimentalmuseum.org
My book, 'Cornwall In The First World War', is published by
Truran. With 112 pages and 100 images, you'll find it in bookshops across the
Duchy. It's also available through Amazon: http://amzn.to/19JbtZm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment