Lance Corporal Arthur Henry Cross (13 December 1884 – 23 November 1965) was a

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 ...

soldier and 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 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. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces.

Early life

Cross was born in

Shipdham Shipdham is a village and civil parish in the Breckland (district), Breckland district, in Norfolk, England, approximately south-south-west of Dereham. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,145 in 899 ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, one of five children. He moved to London when aged 15. He was married and became a father at the age of 18.

Military career

Cross enlisted in the 21st Battalion First Surrey Rifles, The London Regiment on 30 May 1916. In 1917, he transferred to the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

. He was 33 years old, and a

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

in the 40th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps,

during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the

. On 25 March 1918 at Ervillers, France, Lance-Corporal Cross volunteered to make a reconnaissance of the position of two machine-guns which had been captured by the enemy. With the agreement of his sergeant he crept back alone with only a service revolver to what had been his section's trench and was now the enemy's. He surprised seven soldiers who responded by throwing down their rifles. He then marched them carrying the machine guns complete with the tripods and ammunition to the British lines. He then handed over the prisoners and collected teams for his guns which he brought into action immediately, annihilating a very heavy attack by the enemy. The Victoria Cross was given for "extreme gallantry, initiative and dash".In June he was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

for another act of bravery.

Legacy

Cross received an engraved gold watch upon visiting his old village, and later a road there was named after him. Arthur Cross offered the use of his Victoria Cross as a prop in the film '' Carrington V.C.'' starring

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor, soldier, raconteur, memoirist and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. His accolades include an Academ ...

. Five of Arthur Cross's medals (including the VC and Military Medal were sold for £185,000 by Spink's of London on the 19 April 2012.https://www.victoriacross.org.uk/bbcross2.htm He was buried in the family grave at Streatham Vale Cemetery, Plot E, Square 27, Grave 885, joining his second wife along with their two children.

References

Bibliography

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a British 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 ...

(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 f ...

(This England, 1997) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Arthur Henry 1884 births 1965 deaths London Regiment soldiers Machine Gun Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Military Medal People from Shipdham British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials at Streatham Park Cemetery Military personnel from Norfolk