Stanley Elton Hollis VC (21 September 1912 – 8 February 1972) was a British 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 had the distinction of receiving the only Victoria Cross awarded on D-Day (6 June 1944).

Background

Stanley Hollis was born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, where he lived and attended the local school until 1926; when his parents (Edith and Alfred Hollis) moved to

Robin Hood's Bay Robin Hood's Bay is a small fishing village and a bay located in the North York Moors National Park, south of Whitby and north of Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. Bay Town, its local name, is in the ancient chapelry of ...

, where he worked in his father's fish and chip shop. In 1929 he was apprenticed to a

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

shipping company, to learn to be a Navigation Officer. He made regular voyages to West Africa; but in 1930 fell ill with blackwater fever, which ended his merchant navy career. Returning to

North Ormesby North Ormesby is an area in the town of Middlesbrough, in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. The area has gained the common nickname of Doggy, it is of unknown origin. Population of the North Ormesby and Brambles Farm war ...

, Middlesbrough he worked as a lorry driver, and married Alice Clixby with whom he had a son and a daughter.

Military career

In 1939 he enlisted in the Territorial Army, part of the

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 ...

, in the 4th Battalion,

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under vario ...

. At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he was mobilised and transferred to the 6th Battalion, Green Howards and went to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force in 1940, where he served as the commanding officer's despatch rider. He was promoted from lance corporal to sergeant during the evacuation from Dunkirk. He then fought from El Alamein to

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

as part of the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces ...

in the North African Campaign. He was promoted to company sergeant major shortly before the

invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

in 1943, where he was wounded at the battle of Primosole Bridge. On D-Day, the 6th Green Howards landed on Gold Beach. As his company moved inland from the beaches after the initial landings, Hollis went with his company commander to investigate two German pillboxes which had been by-passed. He rushed the first, taking all but five of the occupants prisoner; and then dealt with the second, taking 26 prisoners. He next cleared a neighbouring trench. Later that day, he led an unsuccessful attack on an enemy position containing a field gun and multiple MG 42 machine guns. After withdrawing, he learned that two of his men had been left behind; and said to his commanding officer, Major Lofthouse: "I took them in. I will try to get them out." Taking a grenade from one of his men, Hollis carefully observed the enemy's pattern of behaviour and threw it at the most opportune moment. Unfortunately, he had failed to prime the grenade; but the enemy did not know that, and kept their heads down waiting for it to explode. By the time they had realised their mistake Hollis was on top of them, and had shot them down. In September 1944 he was wounded in the leg and evacuated to England, where he was decorated by King George VI on 10 October 1944.

Citation

Hollis was 31 years old, and a

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

Class II (Company Sergeant-Major) in the 6th Battalion, The

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC:

Later life

After the war, he worked for a time as a sandblaster in a local steelworks. He then became a partner in a motor repair business in Darlington, before becoming a ship's engineer from 1950 to 1955. He next trained as a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lican, and ran the 'Albion' public house in Market Square, North Ormesby: the pub's name was changed to 'The Green Howard'. After the pub was demolished in 1970, he moved to become the tenant of the 'Holywell View' public house at Liverton Mines near Loftus. He died on 8 February 1972, and was laid to rest in Acklam Cemetery, Middlesbrough.

Legacy

Hollis Crescent, a military accommodation estate, was named after him in the 1980s/90s in Strensall, North Yorkshire. A memorial plaque was put on the side of number 2 Hollis Crescent to commemorate his Victoria Cross. Stanley Hollis memorial statue

A statue honouring him, sculpted by Brian Alabaster ARBS, was unveiled on 26 November 2015 by Vice Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Peter Scrope. The walk-in memorial is located close to the Middlesbrough cenotaph outside the gates of Albert Park in front of the

Dorman Museum Dorman Museum is a local and social history museum on the town centre side of Albert Park, Linthorpe in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It is one of two museums operated by the local borough council, along with the Captain Cook bir ...

. ''Hollis Court'', a retired/sheltered accommodation complex in

Coulby Newham Coulby Newham is an area in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, with a resident population of 10,700, measured at 8,967 (Coulby Newham Ward) at the 2011 Census. It is in the TS8 postcode. History Early Coulby Newham began ...

, Middlesbrough is named after him. His Victoria Cross was bought by medal collector Sir Ernest Harrison OBE, chairman of

Racal Racal Electronics plc was a British electronics company that was founded in 1950. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, Racal was a diversified company, offering products including voice loggers and ...

and

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

. Harrison presented the medal to the

Green Howards Regimental Museum The Green Howards Regimental Museum is the museum of the Green Howards infantry regiment of the British Army. It is located in the old Trinity Church in the centre of the market place of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, ...

Richmond, North Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on ...

in 1997. Ten years later, he purchased, for the Green Howards, the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

hut which Hollis had attacked. In 2016, a school in Middlesbrough that converted to academy status, was named ''Hollis Academy'', in his honour.

References

Bibliography

* British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997) *''D-day Victoria Cross: Story of Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis, VC'' (Philip Wilkinson, 1997) *

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) * *

External links

The Green Howards Hollis Memorial - Hollis Hut, Ver-sur-Mer
''(Cleveland)''

''(VC medal donation to regimental museum)''
D-Day
''(highly detailed site on the D-Day landings)'' * ;Press articles
Revealed: How statue of Middlesbrough D-Day hero Stan Hollis is to lookThe Stanley E. Hollis VC Memorial Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollis, Stanley Elton 1912 births 1972 deaths Burials in North Yorkshire People from Middlesbrough Green Howards soldiers British Army personnel of World War II British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British Battle of Normandy recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Yorkshire