 | Cheltenham College: Encyclopedia II - Cheltenham College - Victoria Crosses won by Old Cheltonians
Cheltenham College - Victoria Crosses won by Old Cheltonians
Fourteen Victoria Crosses have been won by Old Cheltonians, making the school third, behind the much larger Eton College (22 awards) and Harrow School (15 awards). Cheltenham's military past is recognised in the fact that it is one of only two schools (the other being Eton) to have its own military colours. A replica of the Boyes VC is on permanent display in the library (Big Modern) with photographs of all 14 Victoria Cross winners and a world map showing where they were won. Below the Victoria Cross display a selection of other medals won by Old Cheltonians is displayed intermittently. The alphabetical list of names, with age and rank at the time of the deed which merited the award of the Victoria Cross, is as follows:
- BOGLE, Lieutenant Andrew Cathcart (28) Andrew Cathcart Bogle.
- BOOTH, Sergeant Frederick Charles (27) Frederick Charles Booth.
- BOYES Midshipman Duncan Gordon (aged 17, the youngest). Duncan Gordon Boyes.
- BOYLE, Lieut. Commander Edward Courtney (32) Edward Courtney Boyle.
- CHANNER, Captain George Nicolas (32) George Nicolas Channer.
- FORBES-ROBERTSON, Lieutenant Colonel James (34) James Forbes-Robertson.
- GRANT, Lieutenant John Duncan (27) John Duncan Grant.
- HART, Lieutenant Reginald Clare (31) Reginald Clare Hart.
- MELVILL, Lieutenant Teignmouth (37) Teignmouth Melvill.
- McDONELL, Mr. William Fraser (28) William Fraser McDonell.
- MOOR, Second Lieut. George Raymond Dallas (19) George Raymond Dallas Moor.
- NEAME, Lieutenant Philip (26) Philip Neame.
- REYNOLDS, Captain Douglas (32) Douglas Reynolds.
- RYDER, Commander Robert Edward Dudley (34) Robert Edward Dudley Ryder.
VCs on public display: Bogle, Boyle, Melvill, Moor, Neame, Reynolds, Ryder (7)
VCs location unknown, presumed in private hands: Booth, Boyes, Channer, Forbes-Robertson, Grant, Hart, McDonell (7)
George Cross recipient
- KEMPSTER, Major André Gilbert (né Coccioletti). Royal Armoured Corps; Algeria, 21 August 1943
The Times of November 10, 1943, p. 4, states:
“On August 21, 1943, near Phillipeville, Major Kempster was carrying out grenade throwing practice with two others in the same pit. A grenade which was thrown by Major Kempster rolled back into the pit. Major Kempster attempted to scoop the grenade out of the pit but failed to do so. By this time detonation was due. Without hesitation Major Kempster threw himself on the grenade just before it exploded and received fatal injuries. By his self-sacrifice, Major Kempster undoubtedly saved the lives of the two other occupants of the pit. Major Kempster’s act meant certain death, and he must have known this at the time. His was a supreme act of gallantry.”
André Gilbert Kempster on the George Cross database.
Other related archives1898, 1904, 1912, 1919, 1924, 1939, 2001, 25, 56, Adam Lindsay Gordon, Andrew Cathcart Bogle, Andrew Cecil Bradley, Anglican, Arab Legion, BBC, British ambassador to Japan, Cambridge, Charles Eliot, Charles Scott, Cheltenham, Cheltenham College Junior School, Chris Bryant, Colin Gubbins, Conservative, DSO, Douglas Reynolds, Duncan Gordon Boyes, Edward Adrian Wilson, Edward Courtney Boyle, England, Eton College, Field Marshal, Frederick Charles Booth, George Nicolas Channer, George Raymond Dallas Moor, Gloucestershire, Glubb Pasha, Harrow School, If..., Imperial Russia, Jack Davenport, James Forbes-Robertson, John Dill, John Duncan Grant, John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, Labour, Lindsay Anderson, MP, Maurice Bowra, Nobel prize, Olympics, Oxford, Paris, Patrick White, Peter Atkinson, Philip Neame, Prince Harry, Queen Victoria, Rageh Omah, Reginald Clare Hart, Rhondda, Robert Edward Dudley Ryder, Robert Falcon Scott, Scottish international rugby player, Shakespeare, Simon Danielli, Teignmouth Melvill, VC, Victoria Cross, William Edward Hartpole Lecky, William Fraser McDonell, World War I, World War II, ambassador, chapel, co-educational, prep school, public school
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Victoria Crosses won by Old Cheltonians", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
