Sidney Clayton Woodroffe

Sidney Clayton Woodroffe VC (17 December 1895-30 July 1915) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

Woodroffe was born in Lewes, West Sussex [ [http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/ggbemem.htm Victoria Cross site] ] and was educated at Marlborough College.

He was 19 years old, and a second lieutenant in the 8th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 30 July 1915 at Hooge, Belgium, when the enemy had broken through the centre of our front trenches, Second Lieutenant Woodroffe's position was heavily attacked with bombs from the flank and subsequently from the rear, but he managed to defend his post until all his bombs were exhausted. He then skillfully withdrew his remaining men and immediately led them forward in a counter-attack under intense rifle and machine-gun fire, and was killed whilst in the act of cutting the wire obstacles in the open.

The medal

This medal is currently in the Lord Ashcroft V.C. Trust Collection. [ [http://www.spink.com/about_spink/vc.asp Spink Exhibition] ]

Further Information

2nd Lt. Woodroffe has no known grave and is commemorated at the Menin Gate in Ypres. His entry is possibly unique, in that the postnomial VC appears before his name, and was most likely added at a later date. He is also listed on the Lewes War Memorial. [ [http://www.roll-of-honour.org/Sussex/Lewes.html Lewes War Memorial] ]

War poet Charles Sorley, a contemporary of Woodfroffe at Marlborough, dedicated a poem to Woodroffe entitled 'In Memoriam SCW VC' [ [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hnOoeU-y7PoC&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=Sidney+Clayton+Woodroffe+vc&source=web&ots=_GqpYs7T37&sig=J7d_pU0zfSxzCULTJjhzFmWbdL4&hl=en#PPA57,M1 Cambridge Poets of the Great War, An Anthology. Michael Copp] ] He was the brother of Kenneth Woodroffe, a cricketer who played for Hampshire and Sussex. Kenneth was also killed in 1915 whilst serving with the Rifle Brigade. [ [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/22490.html Info on brother] ]

References

*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915 (Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999)