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Christopher Augustus Cox VC (25 December 1889 – 28 April 1959), 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 ...

(VC) the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

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and

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forces.

Early army career

Cox was born and later worked as a farm labourer in the

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village of Kings Langley. He married Maud Swan in 1912 and had one son when war was declared, but still volunteered in September 1914. He was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the 7th Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment. He went to France in July 1915 and spent nearly two years in the trenches, first on the Somme near Albert. He was wounded on the first day of the Somme offensive. He was at Thiepval in September 1916 and participated in the Bihucourt assault in March 1917, an engagement in which his actions would earn him the Victoria Cross.

Victoria Cross

On 13 March 1917 at Achiet-le-Grand,

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, during an attack by the battalion, the front wave was checked by very heavy artillery and machine gun fire and the whole line had to take cover in shell holes. Cox, a stretcher-bearer, went out over fire-swept ground and single-handedly rescued four men. Having collected the wounded of his own battalion he then helped to bring in the wounded of the adjoining battalion. On two subsequent days he carried out similar work with complete disregard for his own safety.

Injury and later life

He sustained serious wounds to his foot in an attack on the village of Cherisy on 3 May 1917 which resulted in him being sent back to England, after which he helped to train recruits. Cox was presented with the Victoria Cross by

King 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 his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

on 21 July 1917 at

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. After the war, he refused the offer of a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

and a house and began work as a builder in Kings Langley, later being employed at the nearby

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factory. During the

Second World War 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 joined the local

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. His family expanded to eight children and 14

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ren. He died on 28 April 1959 at the age of 69. His Victoria Cross is currently on display at the

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, London, England.

Memorial celebration in 2007

On 9 September 2007 Kings Langley village celebrated Christopher Augustus Cox's life and daring deeds in a village ceremony. The High Street was closed to traffic to allow a pipe band, standard bearers, ex-service men and women, local dignitaries and members of the Cox family to parade from the Kings Langley Methodist Church along the High Street to the Parish Church for a memorial service. The

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played by

bugle The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...

was sounded within the Church and by the grave. The congregation then moved to the community centre, where artifacts relating to Christopher Cox's life were on display. Kings Langley village was twinned with Achiet-le-Grand in France in November 2009, in honour of Christopher Cox.

References

Bibliography

External links

Kings Langley society
''(brief biography but with detailed citation and report transcriptions)'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Christopher Augustus 1889 births 1959 deaths Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment soldiers British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I British Home Guard soldiers People from Kings Langley Military personnel from Hertfordshire