Soldiers decorated

Local Victoria Cross Winners

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour in the face of the enemy to members of armed forces of some Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other Orders, decorations and medals. The award was officially constituted when Queen Victoria issued a warrant on 29 January 1856. 1,356 Victoria Crosses have been awarded in total, with 628 awards given for action during the First World War, 159 of which were posthumously awarded.

The Leeds Mercury reported on several Victoria Cross winners three days after the Armistice was signed, and a plaque near Leeds Town Hall commemorates their bravery (below):

As an illustration of both the ordinary and extraordinary nature of these men, here, we take a look at the lives of three Victoria Cross Winners who had local connections: Thomas Steele, who moved to Kippax; Albert Mountain, who moved to Garforth; and Thomas Bryan, who lived in Castleford.

Kippax has two men from the First World War, Daniel Booth and Leonard Wilson, who were awarded Great Britain’s second highest military honour for non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel, the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). It was instituted by Royal Warrant on 4 December 1854, during the Crimean War, as an award to Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and men of the British Army for “distinguished, gallant and good conduct in the field”. For all ranks below commissioned officer, it was the second highest award for gallantry in action after the Victoria Cross, and the equivalent of the Distinguished Service Order, which was awarded only to commissioned officers. Around 25,000 DCMs were issued during the First World War. Bars were awarded to the DCM in recognition of the performance of further acts of gallantry meriting the award. Recipients are entitled to the post-nominal letters DCM after their name.

Daniel Booth and Leonard Wilson are also numbered among eight men from Kippax who were awarded the Military Medal (MM) for non-commissioned officers, which was “junior” to the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The Military Medal was introduced by a Royal Warrant dated 25 March 1916 and was the equivalent to the Military Cross (MC) which was awarded to commissioned officers. More than 115,000 MMs were awarded during the Great War. Abraham Carter was the first man from Kippax to be awarded a Military Medal, and William Blakey was the third. Both were killed during the War, and their stories are told in the section “Soldiers on the Kippax Memorial”

The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a silver medal for distinguished service, or for gallantry, principally by non-commissioned officers of all of the British armed forces. It was used to recognise long service, but from 1916 it was also awarded for acts of gallantry or meritorious conduct when not in the face of the enemy. One man from Kippax, Hiram Hartley, won this award.