Lionel Queripel

Lionel Ernest Queripel VC (Winterbourne Monkton, Wiltshire July 13, 1920 - Arnhem, the Netherlands September 19, 1944) 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

He was 24 years old, and a Captain in The Royal Sussex Regiment, British Army, attached 10th Parachute Battalion during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 19 September 1944 at the Battle of Arnhem, the Netherlands, Captain Queripel displayed the highest standard of gallantry during the whole of a period of nine hours of bitter and confused fighting. Under heavy fire he carried a wounded sergeant to the regimental aid post and was himself wounded in the face. Later, when it became necessary to withdraw he insisted, despite the protests of his men, on remaining behind to cover their withdrawal, armed only with his pistol and a few hand grenades. This was the last occasion on which he was seen.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Museum at Aldershot, Hampshire, in England.

Captain Queripel had been commissioned into the 2nd battalion Royal Sussex (now the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR)) just before the start of the Second World War. After the battle of El Alamein in 1942 (where they sustained heavy casualties) the Battalion was selected to be converted to a parachute battalion. Originally, when the Battalion was scheduled for conversion it was known as ‘S’ Battalion. However, the War Office then decreed that a regular unit could not be transferred to the Army Air Corps and the Battalion remained on strength bolstered by men of the 4th & 5th Battalions. There were 200 or so men of the 2nd Battalion who volunteered for parachute training and they formed the basis of 10 Para at Kabrit under Lt Col KBI Smyth OBE of the South Wales Borderers. Attempts were made to retain the ‘S’ for Sussex in 10 Para’s title but the War Office ruled against this.

The story of how Captain Queripel won his VC is one of the better known tales of the battle:

By 1400 hrs on 19th of September the confusion and heavy casualties saw Captain Queripel acting as commander of a company comprising of the men of three parachute battalions. As they advanced along a main road on an embankment towards Arnhem they came under continuous machine-gun fire. At one point, the fire became so heavy that the company was split up on either side of the road and suffered considerable losses. Captain Queripel immediately began to reorganise his troops, crossing and recrossing the road while doing so, under extremely heavy and accurate fire from a strong point consisting of a captured British anti-tank gun and two machine guns. Whilst carrying a wounded sergeant to the regimental aid post under fire he was himself wounded in the face. Having reorganised his force, Captain Queripel personally led a party of men against the strong point holding up the advance. Despite the extremely heavy fire directed at him, Captain Queripel succeeded in killing the crews of the machine-guns and recapturing the anti-tank gun enabling the advance to continue. Later Captain Queripel was ordered to defend some woodland near the Wolfheze level crossing which was vital to the allied advance (Wolfheze is about 12km to the northwest of Arnhem Bridge but only a few hundred metres from the Drop and Landing Zones used). By this time he had received further wounds in both arms, was cut off with a small party of men and took up a position in a ditch. Disregarding his injuries and the heavy mortar and machine gun fire, he continued to inspire his men to resist with hand grenades, pistols, and the few remaining rifles. On at least one occasion he picked up and threw back an enemy stick grenade which had landed in the ditch. As the enemy pressure increased, Captain Queripel decided that it was impossible to hold the position any longer and ordered the men to withdraw. Despite their protests, he insisted on remaining behind to cover their withdrawal with his automatic pistol and a few remaining hand grenades. This was the last occasion on which he was seen.

Lionel Queripel came from a well established and highly decorated military dynasty; his father, Colonel LH Queripel who was a CMG and had been awarded the DSO had served during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 and later in Mesopotamia, France and Russia during the First World War. His grandfather who was awarded a CB and great grandfather were also soldiers.

As is often the case with posthumous VC winners there are many Regimental memorials to Lionel Queripel, these include: the Royal Sussex Book of Remembrance in Chichester Cathedral, the Parachute Regiment Role of Honour which used to be in St Martins-in-the-Fields Church, London but is now in Aldershot, Queripel House the site of 10 Para’s HQ at Duke of York’s in London, the entrance porch to the village church at Somerby, Leicestershire where 10 Para emplaned and of course the Royal Sussex Museum and airborne museums at Aldershot and Oosterbeek. Recently, Captain Queripel’s school, Marlborough College, has unveiled a VC/GC memorial on which his name is commemorated.

Recently his home town of Tunbridge Wells (where the family moved to in 1926) added his name to the Town War Memorial but he had already been included in a unique VC Memorial in Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells. 10 VC recipients had lived in Tunbridge Wells including the very first VC to be awarded to Charles Lucas, who as a mate on HMS Hecla during the Crimean War in 1854 picked a live shell with a burning fuze from the deck and threw it out to sea. There is also another PWRR connection with Major William Sidney VC Grenadier Guards (later Viscount de L’Isle) who was descended from Sir Robert Sidney (1563 – 1626) the first colonel of the Holland Regiment (later the Buffs) who are also a forebear Regiment of the PWRR.

References

*British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997)
*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)In February 1945 when the award of the Victoria Cross was announced Tunbridge Wells Council commissioned a poem by Herbert Hope Campbell. At the time Lionel Queripel was posted as missing, it was not until after the war that it was confirmed he was killed:

We who are burghers of your native town
Hail you today with your illustrious name,
Your knightly valour wins for you renown;
We glory in your courage and your fame!
May we be worthy of your daring deed
Performed by you in England’s hour of need.

On 19 September 2007, Lionel Queripel's sword which had been held with B Coy the London Regiment was presented to the Royal Sussex Regiment Museum in Eastbourne. His surviving sister, her family and Regimental representatives were present.

External links

* [http://blenheimhousenetwork.com/Close%20Combat/Bitten%20Few/vc_at_arnhem.htm VC at Arnhem] "(Arnhem operation details and photos)"
* [http://www.arnhemarchive.org/lionel_queripel.htm The Arnhem Archive entry for Captain Queripel]