- Samuel George Pearse
Samuel George Pearse VC, MM, (
16 July 1897 –29 August 1919 ) was anAustralia n recipient of theVictoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.Early life
Samuel George Pearse was born on
16 July 1897 atPenarth ,Glamorganshire ,Wales and educated atPenarth Grammar School . His family moved toMildura ,Victoria (Australia) in 1911 where he joined the localLegion of Frontiersmen 's Unit .Military service
Pearse served at the
Battle of Gallipoli briefly and then inFrance .He was 22 years old, and asergeant in the 45th Battalion,The Royal Fusiliers ,British Army during theNorth Russia Campaign under the command ofLionel Sadleir-Jackson when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.On
29 August 1919 , north of Emtsa, NorthRussia , Sergeant Pearse cut his way through enemy barbed wire under very heavy machine-gun and rifle fire and cleared a way for the troops to enter an enemy battery position. He then charged a blockhouse which was harassing the advance and causing casualties, and killed the occupants with bombs. A minute later he was killed, but it was due to him that the position was carried with so few casualties.He was buried in Souset Cemetery, Archangel, North
Russia . His Victoria Cross, Military Medal and service medals are privately held.References
*
"Elegant Extracts" - The Royal Fusiliers Recipients of the VC (J.P. Kelleher, 2001)
*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*Peter Burness, ' [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110188b.htm Pearse, Samuel George (1897 - 1919)] ', "Australian Dictionary of Biography ", Volume 11, MUP, 1988, pp 185-186.External links
* [http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/medals/vc/austlist.html List of Australian winners of the Victoria Cross]
*cite news
author=
title='Forgotten' VC heroes remembered
date=2008-03-06
work=BBC News
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7280406.stm
accessdate=2008-08-08
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