Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

Cecil Reginald Noble VC (4 June 1891 − 13 March 1915) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldier and a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(VC), 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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. He was killed at the

Battle of Neuve Chapelle The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge a ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Noble was born in Bournemouth, then part of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, the son of Frederick Noble, a decorator, and his wife Hannah nee Smith. The family lived in Capstone Road and he attended St Clement's Elemenary School, and followed his father in working as a decorator. He disliked his given forename and was known by friends and family as Tommy. He enlisted in the

Rifle Brigade in 1910. When he was 23 years old, and an Acting

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the 2nd Battalion,

The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

, on the Western Front the following deed took place for which he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. On 12 March 1915 at Neuve Chapelle,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, when the advance of the battalion was impeded by

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

entanglements and by very severe machine-gun fire, Corporal Noble and another man ( Harry Daniels) voluntarily rushed in front and succeeded in cutting the wires. They were both wounded, and Corporal Noble later died of his injuries. Daniels survived to receive his Victoria Cross and later rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Noble was buried at Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery, two miles south of

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audoma ...

, France, in plot I, row A, grave 57. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery on 29 April 1915. Source: Military records.

Blue Plaque

Noble is commemorated by a Blue Plaque in Capstone Road, Bournemouth, unveiled on 2nd October 1995. The Blue Plaque gives Noble's rank as Corporal, in line with the VC citation published in the London Gazette supplement of April 1915, but differing from the rank of Lance-Corporal, as used on his Commonwealth War Grave headstone. The plaque was erected at the same time as one to Frederick Charles Riggs also in Capstone Road, as it was considered of interest that both Noble and Riggs had connections to the same Bournemouth street. Noble and Riggs are also commemorated on WWI centenary paving slabs by Bournemouth's War Memorial in the Central Pleasure Gardens, and by neighbouring street names in the Wallisdown area of Bournemouth.Bournemouth's Blue Plaques booklet July 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noble, Cecil 1891 births 1915 deaths Military personnel from Bournemouth Rifle Brigade soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials in France

Blue Plaque

See also

References