Corporal of Horse William James Cross (21 November 1917 – 29 June 2015) was a soldier of the

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 ...

who fought in numerous campaigns during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He participated in battles in Palestine, Salerno, and at Normandy. In 2015, he was awarded the ''

Légion d’honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

''.Bill Cross, Chelsea pensioner - obituary.
''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'', 13 August 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.

Early life and career

Cross was born at

Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town in Lincolnshire, England, and the county's third most populous settlement after Lincoln, England, Lincoln and Grimsby, with a population of 81,286 in 2021. It is the administrative centre and largest settleme ...

on 21 November 1917, the son of soldier from the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

who served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He followed in his father's footsteps, enlisting in the

in September 1934 as a Band Boy with the

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

. He earned the

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

Jubilee and

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

Coronation Medals, being present on both occasions as a mounted musician. Under the

British Mandate in Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

, Cross served with the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...

under the command of

Glubb Pasha Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC, KStJ, KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha (; and known as Abu Hunaik by the Jordanians), was a British military officer who led and trained Transj ...

in 1938.

Second World War

Cross was captured during fighting in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

which was controlled by

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

. During the battle he was taken prisoner by the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. After six weeks as a prisoner of war Cross was evacuated to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

where he re-joined his regiment. It was while in Egypt that Cross was temporarily blinded after being injured in an air raid. After treatment at the 106 (South African) General Hospital on the

Suez Canal Zone The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt). The c ...

, he regained sight in one eye. This enabled him to get back to his regiment and advance with the 7th Armoured Division at the

Battle of El Alamein There were two Battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The battles occurred during the North African campaign in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 ...

. Following his service in Africa, Cross landed with allied forces in Italy at

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

. He was then withdrawn to the UK in readiness for the

D-Day Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. On 28 June 1944, Cross landed on

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...

with 22 Armoured Brigade. In January 1945 Cross transferred to the Life Guards,"Pensioners help the next generation" by

Thomas Stuttaford Irving Thomas Stuttaford, (4 May 1931 – 8 June 2018) was a British medical doctor, columnist, and politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Norwich South between 1970 and 1974. In 2002 he retired as Senior Medical Adv ...

, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 5 December 2003, p. 9(S). where he became a

corporal of horse Corporal of horse (CoH) is a rank in the British Army's Household Cavalry corresponding to sergeant in other regiments. Formerly, no cavalry regiments had sergeants, but the Household Cavalry are the only ones to keep this tradition alive. It ...

and finished his war service at

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...

on the shores of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

Later service and post military career

Cross was a trumpeter in the Life Guards during the

coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

in 1953 and received a third Coronation Medal at that time. He followed this with her Jubilee Medal and two foreign awards. He joined the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

in 1964 and earned their service and good conduct medal. Cross retired from the army in 1977 after 43 years’ service. After retiring from the army, Cross worked at

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

and as a

hospital porter Hospital porters are employed to move patients between wards and departments and to move goods and vital supplies including medical equipment, linen, blood, and samples. This is generally not regarded as skilled work , it attracts little attention ...

Retirement

In 1999 he joined the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

. As a

Chelsea Pensioner A Chelsea Pensioner, or In-Pensioner, is a resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. The Royal Hospital Chelsea ...

still he played in the band there as well as joining the

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

team. In 2006 he was the subject of portrait in oil by Jennifer McRae in his Chelsea uniform, one of a series of portraits of Chelsea pensioners created by McRae.Royal Hospital Collection - William Cross.
Jennifer McRae. Retrieved 14 May 2020. The painting is on permanent loan to the Royal Hospital.Chelsea Pensioners: In-Pensioner William Cross, Formerly Lance Corporal of Horse Life Guards.
Art UK. Retrieved 12 May 2020. In 2015 he was one of 19 Chelsea Pensioners presented with the

by the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Madame

Sylvie Bermann Sylvie-Agnès Bermann (born 19 October 1953) is a French former career diplomat who served as the ambassador of France to the United Kingdom, Cross died on 29 June 2015, he was a widower and was survived by his son Malcolm.

References

External links

Bill Cross talking about his military career.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Bill 1917 births 2015 deaths British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Military personnel from Lincolnshire People from Scunthorpe British recipients of the Legion of Honour British Army personnel of World War II Chelsea Pensioners Royal Scots Greys soldiers British military musicians English trumpeters British Life Guards soldiers Honourable Artillery Company soldiers British World War II prisoners of war