Geoffrey St. George Shillington Cather (11 October 1890 – 2 July 1916) was 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 and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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. A soldier with the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess ...

during 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 was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions on 1 July 1916, during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

Early life

Cather was born in

Streatham Hill Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, south-west

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on 11 October 1890 to Robert Gabriel "R. G." Cather, who worked for the tea merchant company Joseph Tetley & Co., and his wife Margaret Matilda , both from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. His mother was the sister of the politician

David Graham Shillington Major David Graham Shillington PC(NI) (10 December 1872 – 22 January 1944) was an Ulster Unionist politician and agricultural and builders' merchant. Early life Shillington was a son of Thomas Primus Shillington (1831-1889), of Tava ...

. He was educated at Hazelwood School in

Limpsfield Limpsfield is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs close to Oxted railway station and the A25 road, A25.Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

. His schooling was curtailed in his mid-teens by the death of his father. He went to work for his late father's company, Joseph Tetley & Co. He spent much of the period from 1911 to 1914 in the United States and Canada on business.

First World War

On 3 September 1914, Cather enlisted in 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 ...

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles, is a regiment of the British Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, ...

. He already had some military experience, having served for two years in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

with the 19th Royal Fusiliers from 1909 to early 1911. The following May, he requested a transfer to the

on account of his parents both being from Northern Ireland. He was accordingly granted a commission in the 9th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers, which was part of the

36th (Ulster) Division The 36th (Ulster) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Lord Kitchener's New Army, formed in September 1914. Originally called the ''Ulster Division'', it was made up of mainly members of the Ulster Volunteers, who f ...

. Sent to the French sector of the Western Front in October 1915, Cather was soon promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and became adjutant of the battalion. The following July, the 36th Division took part in the

. On 1 July 1916, the opening day of the battle, Cather's battalion was tasked with capturing Beaucourt Station, near

Beaumont-Hamel Beaumont-Hamel () is a Communes of France, commune in the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. During the World War I, First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was close to the front line, ne ...

. However, there were heavy casualties amongst 9th Battalion and the adjacent 12th Battalion, and the Irish had to return to their starting positions leaving behind many wounded in no man's land. That night, Cather went out to locate and bring in wounded. He was able to retrieve three men before retiring for the night. The next morning he went out again to locate more survivors but was killed by machine gun fire. For his actions, he was awarded the

(VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. The citation for his VC read as follows: Originally buried near where he was killed, Cather's grave was later lost. His name is listed on the

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. It is near the ...

, which was established near Thiepval in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

. A plaque to his memory is on the walls of the main building of Hazelwood School, which he attended in his youth; and he is listed on the Royal Fusiliers Regimental Memorial in St Anne's Cathedral in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Victoria Cross

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 ...

presented Cather's VC to his mother on 31 March 1917, in a ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. He was also entitled to the

1914–15 Star The 1914–15 Star is a campaign medal of the British Empire which was awarded to all who served in the British and Imperial forces in any theatre of the First World War against the Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The medal was n ...

, the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...

, and the Victory Medal. His VC and other medals were later donated by his brother to the Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum in

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, Northern Ireland.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cather, Geoffrey St George 1890 births 1916 deaths People from Streatham People educated at Hazelwood School People educated at Rugby School Royal Irish Fusiliers officers Artists' Rifles soldiers British Battle of the Somme recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme British Army personnel of World War I British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from the London Borough of Lambeth