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 colone ...

Arthur Drummond Borton (1 July 1883 – 5 January 1933) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Biography

Borton was born at Cheveney, Kent to British officer Arthur Close Borton, the eldest son of Sir Arthur Borton and Adelaide Beatrice Drummond, a grandchild of Robert Kaye Greville. Borton was educated at Eton College and Sandhurst, before being commissioned into the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

in 1902 with whom he served in the Second Boer War. In 1908 he left the Army as unfit for general service. At the start of the First World War, Borton was fruit farming in the United States. He returned to England and re-joined The King's Royal Rifles in 1914. After further service with the regiment he became an observer with The

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in France, where he broke his neck in three places when his aircraft crashed and was declared unfit. Despite this he went to

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

as a lieutenant commander in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, where he won the Distinguished Service Order serving with the RNAS Armoured Cars. Borton was appointed Second-in-Command of the 2nd/22nd London Regiment (The Queen's) in June 1916, serving in France and Palestine. He was a 34-year-old

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 colone ...

in the 2/22nd (County of London) Battalion, the

London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). The ...

, British Army, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 7 November 1917 at

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, Borton deployed his battalion for attack and at dawn led his companies against a strongly held position. When the leading waves were checked by withering fire, he moved freely up and down the line under heavy fire and then led his men forward, capturing the position. At a later stage he led a party of volunteers against a battery of field-guns in action at point-blank range, capturing the guns and the detachments. His fearless leadership was an example to the whole brigade. He died on 5 January 1933 at Southwold in Suffolk, aged 49.Birmingham Daily Gazette, 6 January 1933. p. 1. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum, Clandon Park,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. Borton's younger brother was Air Vice Marshal Amyas Borton. He married Lorna Lockhart in 1915.

Honours and awards

References

Kent Fallen

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borton, Arthur 1883 births 1933 deaths Burials in Kent People from Hunton, Kent People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Navy officers British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I London Regiment officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Kent