Lieutenant-Colonel John Stanhope Collings-Wells VC DSO (19 July 1880 – 27 March 1918) was an English 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 ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...

and Christ Church, Oxford, where he joined the

Apollo University Lodge Apollo University Lodge No 357 is a Masonic Lodge based at the University of Oxford aimed at past and present members of the university. It was consecrated in 1819, and its members have met continuously since then. University of Oxford Membershi ...

. Born in Manchester on 19 July 1880 to Arthur & Caroline Mary, Collings-Wells moved to

Marple Marple may refer to: Places * Marple, Greater Manchester, a town close to Stockport, in England ** Marple Bridge, a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester ** Marple railway station in Marple, Greater Manches ...

to live with his cousin, Will Buck, enabling him to run his father's business in Manchester.John Stanhope Collings-Wells
p1, article at Marple.co.uk Collings-Wells was commissioned into the 4th (Hertfordshire Militia) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment on 17 September 1904 and promoted to captain on 3 January 1907.''Army List''. The part-time

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

was converted into the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...

in 1908, with the role of providing reinforcements for the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

in time of war. After

World War I 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 ...

war broke out in 1914, Collings-Wells went to France as a reinforcement for the 2nd (Regular) Battalion of the Bedfords on 6 November 1914. He was wounded on 12 January 1915 and evacuated to the UK.Collings-Wells at Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War.
/ref> He was promoted to temporary Major on 30 January 1916 and was serving as commander of A Company in

4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment The Hertfordshire Militia was an auxiliary military force in Hertfordshire in South East England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 and their service in the English Civil War, the Militia (United Kingdom), Militia of Hertfor ...

when it landed in France in July 1916. Collings-Wells became second-in-command of the battalion on 4 September and took over command of the battalion as acting

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 20 October 1916.4th Bedfords' War diary 1916, summarised at Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War.
/ref> Collings-Wells was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

in 1917 for his command of the battalion during the Second Battle of the Scarpe, when it captured and held the northern outskirts of

Gavrelle Gavrelle () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated northeast of Arras, at the junction of the N50 and the D33 roads. The motorway junction of the A26 autorou ...

on 23 April 1917. Further, on 29 April he commanded a composite battalion of 4th Bedfords and

7th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers The Royal London Militia was an auxiliary regiment organised in the City of London during the French Revolutionary War from the former London Trained Bands. It later became part of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). After conversion to ...

in the

Battle of Arleux The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the ...

when it attacked and captured the Oppy line. He was also mentioned in dispatches in November 1917.John Stanhope Collings-Wells
p2, article at Marple.co.uk

VC Citation

In the period 22/27 March during the fighting from

Marcoing Marcoing () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. History During World War I, there was an alleged incident between a British soldier named Henry Tandey and Adolf Hitler in this area. Hitler was unarmed and appeared wounded, so ...

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

, France, while commanding 4th Bedfords he committed acts which earned him the Victoria Cross. He died in action on 27 March 1918. He was buried at Bouzincourt Ridge Cemetery (Plot 3, Row E, Grave 12).CWGC entry
/ref> His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regimental Collection at the

Wardown Park Museum Wardown House Museum and Gallery formerly Wardown Park Museum and, before that, the Luton Museum & Art Gallery in Luton, is housed in a large Victorian mansion in Wardown Park on the outskirts of the town centre. The museum collection focuses ...

, Luton, Bedfordshire.

References

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 3 ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fo ...

(This England, 1997) *

VCs of the First World War - Spring Offensive 1918 ''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War. The series consists of 13 books written by four different authors, first published under the label Sutton Publishing Limited, part ...

(Gerald Gliddon, 1997)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collings-Wells, John Stanhope 1880 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Manchester British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Hertfordshire Militia officers Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People educated at Uppingham School British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials in France Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England