Derek Godfrey Kinne, GC (11 January 1931 – 6 February 2018) 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 who awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

for the valour he showed in withstanding torture at the hands of the Chinese

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

forces 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 ...

. Kinne was serving with the

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

when he was taken prisoner by the Chinese on the last day of the

Battle of Imjin River The Battle of the Imjin River (), also known as the Battle of Solma-ri () or Battle of Gloster Hill () in South Korea, or as Battle of Xuemali () in China, took place 22–25 April 1951 during the Korean War. Troops from the Chinese People's Vo ...

on 25 April 1951. He escaped twice, the first time within a day of his capture, and was held in solitary confinement in ever more brutal conditions as a result of his unbreakable defiance. His final period of punishment was for wearing a rosette to celebrate

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. ...

's coronation. He was eventually released, in a prisoner exchange, on 10 August 1953.

Citation

Notice of his award was published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' on 9 April 1954.— Kinne's brother, Raymond, was killed in Korea while fighting with the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) is a light infantry company (military unit), company (designated as Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) and was a line infantry regiment of the British Army tha ...

in 1950, the event which spurred Kinne to re-join the army to take revenge for his brother. In 2010 Derek Kinne returned to Korea to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War. Kinne died aged 87 after a battle with cancer on 6 February 2018 in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinne, Derek 1931 births British Army personnel of the Korean War British prisoners of war in the Korean War British recipients of the George Cross English emigrants to the United States 2018 deaths Royal Northumberland Fusiliers soldiers Military personnel from Nottingham Korean War prisoners of war held by the People's Republic of China British people imprisoned in China