Post by Les on Jan 8, 2008 19:31:45 GMT
West Bromwich home of World War 1 VC hero Captain Robert Phillips to get blue plaque Jan 4 2008
By Steve Johnson, Birmingham Mail
A MIDLAND war hero awarded the Victoria Cross for risking his life to rescue a comrade under fire is to be commemorated with the first of a new series of blue plaques in Sandwell.
The memory of Captain Robert Edwin Phillips will live on through the plaque, which is being put up at Holyhead House, Hill Top, West Bromwich, where he was born and lived for many years before retirement.
He was awarded the top military honour for "outstanding bravery" while serving in Mesopotamia in 1917.
Alongside another soldier, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment officer went to the aid of his mortally-wounded commanding officer and dragged him to safety.
Relatives of Capt Phillips, who died aged 73, in 1968, have been invited to attend the poignant ceremony at Holyhead House, on January 26.
Serving and ex-members of the armed forces, councillors and local residents will also be at the ceremony, with Mail historian Carl Chinn broadcasting from Holyhead House the day before.
The special event marks the culmination of years of campaigning by locals who have been fighting for commemoration of where Capt Phillips was born and lived for many years before retiring to the West Country.
Coun George Turton, chairman of the Wednesbury Town Committee and his deputy Coun Simon Hackett supported the long-running campaign.
Coun Hackett said: "It is important we recognise the courage and selflessness of people who have served their country.
"A blue plaque is a fitting tribute to a local man who showed the utmost bravery in recsuing a badly-wounded comrade."
Coun Turton said the ceremony was also a tribute to the efforts of ordinary people to honour a local son.
The plaque will be the first in Sandwell under a new scheme set up by tourism projects development officer Manjit Kaur.
Coun Linda Horton, cabinet member for culture and leisure, said: "The scheme will ensure we honour and remember local people who have served their communities."
Capt Phillips' VC citation said that he went out under intense fire on January 25, 1917, to help his commanding officer, who died from his injuries.
The citation said he helped bring him back to his own lines, showing sustained courage in its very highest form.
After the war Capt Phillips, born on April 11, 1895, returned to his job as an Inland Revenue officer. He died at Lostwithiel in Cornwall.
By Steve Johnson, Birmingham Mail
A MIDLAND war hero awarded the Victoria Cross for risking his life to rescue a comrade under fire is to be commemorated with the first of a new series of blue plaques in Sandwell.
The memory of Captain Robert Edwin Phillips will live on through the plaque, which is being put up at Holyhead House, Hill Top, West Bromwich, where he was born and lived for many years before retirement.
He was awarded the top military honour for "outstanding bravery" while serving in Mesopotamia in 1917.
Alongside another soldier, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment officer went to the aid of his mortally-wounded commanding officer and dragged him to safety.
Relatives of Capt Phillips, who died aged 73, in 1968, have been invited to attend the poignant ceremony at Holyhead House, on January 26.
Serving and ex-members of the armed forces, councillors and local residents will also be at the ceremony, with Mail historian Carl Chinn broadcasting from Holyhead House the day before.
The special event marks the culmination of years of campaigning by locals who have been fighting for commemoration of where Capt Phillips was born and lived for many years before retiring to the West Country.
Coun George Turton, chairman of the Wednesbury Town Committee and his deputy Coun Simon Hackett supported the long-running campaign.
Coun Hackett said: "It is important we recognise the courage and selflessness of people who have served their country.
"A blue plaque is a fitting tribute to a local man who showed the utmost bravery in recsuing a badly-wounded comrade."
Coun Turton said the ceremony was also a tribute to the efforts of ordinary people to honour a local son.
The plaque will be the first in Sandwell under a new scheme set up by tourism projects development officer Manjit Kaur.
Coun Linda Horton, cabinet member for culture and leisure, said: "The scheme will ensure we honour and remember local people who have served their communities."
Capt Phillips' VC citation said that he went out under intense fire on January 25, 1917, to help his commanding officer, who died from his injuries.
The citation said he helped bring him back to his own lines, showing sustained courage in its very highest form.
After the war Capt Phillips, born on April 11, 1895, returned to his job as an Inland Revenue officer. He died at Lostwithiel in Cornwall.