Lewis McGee

Lewis McGee VC (13 May 1888 -13 October 1917) was an Australian 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.

He was 29 years old, and a Sergeant in the 40th Battalion (Tasmania), Australian Imperial Force during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 4 October 1917, east of Ypres, Belgium, Sergeant McGee's platoon was suffering severely and the advance of the company was stopped by machine-gun fire from a pill-box post. Sergeant McGee rushed to the post armed only with a revolver, shooting some of the crew and capturing the rest, which enabled the advance to proceed. He reorganised the remnants of his platoon and did splendid work during the consolidation of the position. His coolness and bravery contributed largely to the success of the company's operation. He was killed in action shortly afterwards.

He was killed in action at the Battle of Passchendaele, on 13 October 1917.

References

*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*VCs of the First World War - Passchendaele 1917 (Stephen Snelling, 1998)

External links

* [http://www.ozemail.com.au/~vcweb/winners/mcgee.htm MCGEE L.]
* [http://www.iol.net.au/~conway/vicross/mcgee.html Sergeant Lewis McGee] "(photo, details)"