- Edward Unwin
Edward Unwin VC, CB, CMG (1864–
19 April ,1950 ) was an English 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.Unwin joined the merchant navy at the age of 16 and spent 15 years serving on
clipper s withP&O . He trained at HMS "Conway" and joined theRoyal Navy on16 October 1895 serving during theSouth African War . He was promoted tolieutenant commander in 1903 and retired in 1909 with the rank ofCommander . He was recalled to the service on29 July ,1914 , shortly before the outbreak of the First World War. Initially he served aboard HMS "Iron Duke" on the staff of Admiral John Jellicoe but in February 1915 he took command of thetorpedo gunboat HMS "Hussar" which had operated as a despatch vessel for the Commander in Chief,Mediterranean and was now a minesweeper.In 1915, when planning began for the amphibious landing on the
Gallipoli peninsula, Unwin proposed beaching the 4,000 ton collier SS "River Clyde" on the narrow beach beneathSedd el Bahr atCape Helles , known as V Beach, thereby allowing 2,000 troops to be landed together. At the age of 51, Unwin was promoted to actingCaptain and given command of the "River Clyde" for the operation.The "River Clyde" beached at 06:22 on
25 April ,1915 , and the plan called for a steam hopper to form a bridge from the ship to the shore. However, theDardanelles current swept the hopper away so Unwin, accompanied by Able SeamanWilliam Charles Williams , who had served under him on the "Hussar" and had been ordered to stay by his side, dove overboard and manhandled two lighters into position, lashing them together to form the bridge. All the while Unwin was under fire from the Turkish defenders. When Williams was mortally wounded, Unwin went to his aid and the lighter he was holding was swept away.Unwin collapsed from cold and exhaustion, his place being taken by other men. After an hour of rest, he returned to the lighters until he was wounded and collapsed again. Once the attempts to land had ceased, Unwin went out a third time to attempt to recover wounded from the beach; according to one account he retrieved seven men.
For his actions during the
landing at Cape Helles , Unwin was awarded theVictoria Cross . His citation, published in the "London Gazette " on16 August , 1915 reads::"While in SS "River Clyde", observing that the lighters which were to form the bridge to the shore had broken adrift, Commander Unwin left the ship, and under a murderous fire attempted to get the lighters into position. He worked on, until suffering from the effects of cold and immersion, he was obliged to return to the ship, where he was wrapped up in blankets. Having in some degree recovered, he returned to his work against the doctor's order and completed it. He was later attended by the doctor for three abrasions caused by bullets, after which he once more left the ship, this time in a lifeboat, to save some wounded men who were lying in shallow water near the beach. He continued at this heroic labour under continuous fire, until forced to stop through physical exhaustion."
In August, when a new landing as to be made by the
British IX Corps atSuvla as part of theBattle of Sari Bair , Unwin was given command of the landing boats, known as "Beetles". He was the first to report on the landing to the corps commander,Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Stopford, and advised against landing further troops inside Suvla Bay due to the darkness and reefs.Unwin was back at Suvla as Naval Transport Officer for the evacuation in December — he was aboard the last boat to leave the beach. When a soldier fell overboard, Unwin dived in to rescue him. Observing this act, General Julian Byng, the new IX Corps commander, remarked to Commodore
Roger Keyes ::"You really must do something about Unwin. You should send him home; we want several little Unwins."
In 1916 Unwin took command of HMS "Amethyst" and in 1917 became Naval Transport Officer, Egypt. He later achieved the rank of commodore. He died on
19 April ,1950 and is buried in Grayshott,Surrey . His Victoria Cross has been loaned by his family to theImperial War Museum , London, where it is on display.References
*
Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)
*VCs of the First World War - Gallipoli (Stephen Snelling, 1995)
*VCs of the First World War - The Naval VCs (Stephen Snelling, 2002)External links
* [http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/bbunwin.htm www.victoriacross.org.uk - Edward Unwin, VC]
* [http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/surrey.htm Location of grave and VC medal] "(Surrey)"
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