Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

George Henry Prowse VC, DCM (29 August 1886 – 27 September 1918) was a British 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. He served with the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who w ...

during the Gallipoli Campaign and in France on the Western Front where he was killed in action before the award of either of his decorations was announced.

Naval service

According to his service record, which has been placed online by

The National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

, Prowse was born on 28 August 1896, however the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

gives his age at death as 32, which would place his birth in 1886. Recent research in South Wales has unearthed a birth certificate that shows he was actually born on 29 August 1886 in Brynsion Terrace, Gilfach Goch, Llantrisant and a

Blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

was placed on the house (Brynsion Terrace has since been renamed to be part of High Street) by the local council,

Rhondda Cynon Taff Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff () and Ely valleys, plus several towns and villages away from ...

on 21 October 2006.Alt URL
/ref> He enlisted in the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

for the

, on 26 February 1915. The details recorded in his service record show he was living in the

Landore Landore () is a district and community in Swansea, Wales. The district falls in the Landore council ward. A mainly residential area, it is located about 2.5 miles north of Swansea city centre. The north-easterly part of Landore is known as ...

area of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

with his wife Sarah; he had been working as a collier, was tall, had grey eyes, brown hair and a "fair" complexion. At some time he relocated to Camerton in Somerset, probably to work in the coal mines there. In the churchyard at Camerton there is a war memorial with his name shown. Prowse was initially rated Ordinary Seaman, on 5 May 1915 he was promoted to Able Seaman (rank). After completing training at

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

, in September 1915 he was posted to the Drake Battalion, which was then engaged in the Gallipoli Campaign. It is not clear how much active service Prowse saw at this time as he spent significant periods hospitalised with first

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...

and then

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea, is an inflammation of the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of ...

, finally rejoining his battalion in Egypt on 9 January 1916. The division remained engaged in the Gallipoli Campaign until May 1916 when it was transferred to France. Prowse arrived at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

on 7 June 1916, on 20 June he was promoted

Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

. In November 1916 the Division was employed in the

Battle of the Ancre The Battle of the Ancre was fought by the British Fifth Army (Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the las ...

, the final attempt to resolve 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 ...

. Prowse received a gunshot wound in his left thigh on 13 November (the opening day of the battle) and after initial treatment in France was admitted to a hospital in

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

on 17 November. Having been discharged from hospital, he went back to the base at Blandford on 9 January 1917, and eventually returned to his battalion in France on 28 March 1917. In August 1918 Prowse was recommended for the award of the DCM. The citation, published posthumously in 1919 stated Prowse was about 32 years old, and a

in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, (Drake Battalion, Royal Naval Division) 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 ...

when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 2 September 1918 at

Pronville Pronville-en-Artois (; literally "Pronville in Artois"), simply Pronville until 2017, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France southeast of Arras. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calai ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Chief Petty Officer Prowse led a small party of men against an enemy strong-point, capturing it, together with 23 prisoners and 5 machine-guns. On three other occasions he displayed great heroism in dealing with difficult and dangerous situations, and at one time he dashed forward and attacked and captured two machine-gun posts, killing six of the enemy and taking 13 prisoners and two machine-guns. He was the only survivor of this gallant party, but his action enabled the battalion to push forward in comparative safety.

Citation

He was killed in action, Anneux,

, on 27 September 1918.

Medal award

Sarah Prowse was presented with her husband's Victoria Cross by H.M. King George V at Buckingham Palace on 17 July 1919, after all the live recipients. She led the list of posthumous awards and was presented with the last VC with the blue naval ribbon. Prowse's Victoria Cross is in the Lord Ashcroft VC Collection at the Imperial War Museum.

References

Biog details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prowse, George 1886 births 1918 deaths Royal Navy sailors British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel killed in World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I People from Tonyrefail