Arthur Herbert Procter VC (11 August 1890 – 27 January 1973) was an English recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

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forces.

Early life and family

He was born in 1890, son of Arthur Richard Procter and his wife Ellen Cumpsty. He was educated at schools in

Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in ...

and

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

.Tribute from "The Tameside Citizen"
Beginning employment at Liverpool Corn Exchange, he was a clerk in the provision trade from 1904 until 1914, when in November he enlisted in the King's Liverpool Regiment after the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1917 Procter married Hilda May Codd in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

. The couple had three sons.

Award

He was 25 years old, and a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the 1/5th Battalion, the

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 when a single battalion was raised as The Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. ...

(part of the 55th (West Lancashire) Division,

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 4 June 1916 near

Ficheux Ficheux () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France south of Arras. Population The inhabitants are called ''Ficheusois''. See also * Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department The following is ...

, France, Private Procter noticed some movement on the part of two wounded men who were lying in full view of the enemy about 15 yards in front of the trenches. He at once went out on his own initiative and, although heavily fired at, ran and crawled to the two men, got them under cover of a small bank dressed their wounds and promised that they would be rescued after dark. He left them with warm clothing and then returned to the trenches, again being heavily fired at. The men were rescued at dusk. Procter was the first British soldier to be decorated with the VC on the battlefield.''Battle of the Somme – 100 Years'' feature by Toby Neal; 'County' in this context referring to Shropshire although he did not yet live there.

Further information

After demobilisation in 1919, he returned to the provision trade where he worked as a salesman until 1926, when he took up full-time study for

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

ministry at St Aidan's College, Birkenhead. He was ordained a deacon in 1927 and priest in 1928, while serving a curacy at St Mary's, Prescot,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. From 1931 to 1933 he was Vicar of

Bosley Bosley is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 406.Flowery Field, Hyde, (both then in Cheshire) from 1933 to 1944. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served as a chaplain in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

from 1941 to 1946. After the war he was successively Rector of St Mary,

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the mid-19th cen ...

, Manchester, from 1946 to 1951; Vicar of Claybrooke with Wibtoft,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

from 1951 to 1963, and of

Bradworthy Bradworthy is a village and civil parish in Devon, England, situated north-east of the border with Cornwall. This location has led to it being called the "last village in North Devon" – traveling further west leads to the Cornish village of K ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

from 1963 to 1964. After retiring from full-time ministry, he lived in the later 1960s at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, where he was chaplain to the town's

British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

branch and in 1966 he was one of seven winners of the VC who were invited by the Minister of Defence to attend the 50th anniversary

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

celebrations in France. He later moved to Sheffield. He died on 27 January 1973, aged 82, in Sheffield. He was cremated at Sheffield Crematorium in City Road and his ashes buried in All Saints Chapel at

Sheffield Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, also known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when ...

Legacy

Procter VC memorial at Birkenhead Cenotaph

Blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

s have been erected to him by

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, also known as Tameside Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local govern ...

at St Mary's Church,

, and St Stephen's Church, Hyde.Tameside Blue Plaques list
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of the King's Regiment, Liverpool, England.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
(South Yorkshire) *
Regimenal Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Procter, Arthur Herbert 1890 births 1973 deaths People from Bootle Territorial Force soldiers British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross King's Regiment (Liverpool) soldiers World War II chaplains British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century English Anglican priests Royal Air Force chaplains British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Alumni of St Aidans College Birkenhead Military personnel from Merseyside