- George Harold Eardley
forces.
Details
He was 32 years old, and an Acting
Sergeant in the 4th Battalion,The King's Shropshire Light Infantry ,British Army during theSecond World War when he was awarded the VC.On
16 October 1944 east ofOverloon , theNetherlands , Sergeant Eardley's platoon was ordered to clear some orchards where a strong opposition was holding up the advance, but convert|80|yd away from the objective the platoon was halted by automatic fire from machine-gun posts. Sergeant Eardley spotted one of these posts and moving forward under heavy fire killed the officer at the post with a grenade. He went on to destroy two more posts single-handed, under fire so intense that it daunted those who were with him, but his action enabled the platoon to achieve its objective and thus ensured the success of the whole attack.Further information
He later achieved the rank of
Company Sergeant-Major .A statue was erected in his home town of
Congleton in 2004.The medal
His medals are displayed in the Shropshire Regimental Museum.These were presented to the Museum by his son, Roy Harold Eardley.
References
*
British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997)
*Eardley VC, MM, KSLI (Roy H. Eardley, Andrea Wendy Eardley, 1997)
*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)External links
* [http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/cheshire.htm Location of grave and VC medal] "(Cheshire)"
* [http://www.eardley.org/genealogy/sir_george_statue.htm Information on Statue]
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