- Walter Norris Congreve
General Sir Walter Norris Congreve VC, KCB, MVO, DL (November 20 ,1862 -February 28 ,1927 ). He was 37 years old, and acaptain inThe Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) ,British Army during the South African War when he won the VC. DuringWorld War I , Congreve lost a hand in action. Later, he rose to the rank ofgeneral and was knighted. From 1924 to 1927, Sir Walter served as the governor ofMalta , where he died. At his request, he was buried at sea in the channel between the coast andFilfla Island; there is a small monument to him on the coast betweenHamrija Tower and the pre-historic site ofMnajdra ; the channel between Malta and Filfla is now known as Congreve Channel.Sir Walter was also the father of Major
William La Touche Congreve , VC - they are one of only three father and son pairs to win a VC.Action at Colenso
On
15 December 1899 at theBattle of Colenso ,South Africa , Captain Congreve with several others, tried to save the guns of the 14th and 66th Batteries, Royal Field Artillery, when the detachments serving the guns had all become casualties or been driven from their guns. Some of the horses and drivers were sheltering in a donga (gully) about 500 yards behind the guns and the intervening space was swept with shell and rifle fire. Captain Congreve, with two other officers (The Hon.Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts andHarry Norton Schofield ), and CorporalGeorge Edward Nurse retrieved two of the guns. All four received the VC for this action. (F.S.H. Roberts was the son in one of the two other father and son pairs of VC winners.) Then, although wounded himself, seeing one of the officers fall, Congreve went out with MajorWilliam Babtie , RAMC, who also received the VC for this action, and brought in the wounded man.Congreve's Victoria Cross is on display at the
Royal Green Jackets Museum "(Winchester, England)".References
*
Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 2000)External links
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7711636 Find-A-Grave profile for Walter Norris Congreve]
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