Lieutenant-Commander Edgar Christopher Cookson
VC DSO (13 December 1883 – 28 September 1915) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
recipient of the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, the highest and most prestigious 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. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
forces.
Cookson was born on 13 December 1883 to Capt. W. E. Cookson, R.N.
[Cookson, Edgar Christopher]
Commonwealth War Graves Commission He was 31 years old and a
Lieutenant-Commander in the command of
HMS ''Comet'' on the River
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
when his actions, on 28 September 1915, during the advance on
Kut-el-Amara
Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people.
It ...
,
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
earned him the Victoria Cross. He was shot several times by the enemy that day, and died within a few minutes.
Citation
References
*''
Monuments to Courage
David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a 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 him over 36 ...
'' (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 fol ...
'' (This England, 1997)
*''
VCs of the First World War: The Naval VCs'' (Stephen Snelling, 2002)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cookson, Edgar Christopher
1883 births
1915 deaths
Royal Navy officers
British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
British military personnel killed in World War I
Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross
People from Birkenhead
Royal Navy officers of World War I
Royal Navy personnel of the Boxer Rebellion