William Speakman-Pitt, VC (21 September 1927 – 20 June 2018), known as Bill Speakman, 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 a 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. He was the first person to receive an honour from

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

.''Our Queen at Ninety''. ITV, 28 March 2016

Military career

Speakman was born and brought up in

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, and educated at Wellington Road School, Timperley. He was 24 years old and a

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in the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment),

, attached to the 1st Battalion,

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, Royal Highland Fusiliers ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

when the following deed took place at United Hill, for which he was awarded the VC. At dusk on 4 November 1951, during the Second Battle of Maryang-san, on the ridge known as Hill 217 in Marysang-san, the section holding the left shoulder of the company's position had been seriously depleted by casualties and was being overrun by the enemy. Speakman, on his own initiative, filled his pockets with grenades and went forward, pelting the Chinese with them. Having thrown all of the grenades he had, he returned for more. Inspired by his actions, six men joined him in collecting a pile of grenades and followed him in a series of charges. He broke up several enemy attacks, causing heavy casualties and, despite being wounded in the leg and the shoulder, continued to lead charge after charge. When they ran low on ammunition, they had to resort to throwing stones and ration tins and, according to legend, beer bottles. The enemy was kept at bay long enough to enable his company to withdraw safely. The press nicknamed him the 'beer-bottle VC,' something he disliked for fear that it suggested he and his colleagues drank beer while on duty; the beer was in fact used to cool gun barrels. Although his award was made by King

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 ...

, Speakman was the first VC invested by Queen Elizabeth II. Whilst serving in Malaya (with the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

), Borneo and Radfan, he was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. In Malaya, he was involved in finding and returning the bodies of two soldiers killed in a clash with communist insurgents in the jungle. Standing tall, he was nicknamed "Big Bill".

Later life

Due to financial hardship, Speakman sold his original VC, using the money to put a new roof on his cottage, but later bought a replacement to wear. His Victoria Cross is displayed in the

National War Museum of Scotland The National War Museum is a museum dedicated to warfare, which is located inside Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 1933 in a converted 18th-century ordnance storehouse, the museum is run by the National Museums Scotland and c ...

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. He was interviewed for the 2006 television

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Victoria Cross Heroes ''Victoria Cross Heroes'' is a three-part television UK docudrama recipients first broadcast by Channel 5 in 2006 that tells the stories of some of the recipients of the Victoria Cross. Production The series was commissioned to celebrate the ...

'', which also included archive footage and dramatisations of his actions. Grave of Bill Speakman VC at the UN Memorial Cemetery

In a ceremony held in Seoul on 21 April 2015 for visiting veterans of the Korean War, Speakman gave a replica of his Victoria Cross and other medals to the people and government of South Korea. He became an in-pensioner of 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 ...

, and died on 20 June 2018. His ashes were buried in the

United Nations Memorial Cemetery The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK; ), located at Tanggok in the Nam District, Busan, Nam District,; also seeKorea 1:50,000 Pusan Sheet 7019 III (1947) an of Busan,As a transliteration from Korean, the city name 부산 () was ...

, South Korea on 19 February 2019.

Military career

Later life

References

Further reading