It is often said that “the post of danger is the post of honour.” The post of danger is given to the bravest, and the knowledge that much depends upon him often nerves him to the doing of dauntless deeds.
The record of valour which the Great War gave to history is the finest in the memory of mankind. The knowledge of science which men had won made fighting much more terrible than it had ever been before; but still the post of danger was eagerly sought by those men who could echo the words of King Harry of England:
“If it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.”
Many brave deeds were also done in that great struggle by men who had no idea that they were heroes. They just did their duty as it came along without any thought of honour or fame. They were like Jack Cornwell, the boy hero of the Battle of Jutland. They were “just carrying on.”
These deeds of daring were done by men, and even by women, in the armies of all the fighters—and among the Germans too. Each army had its ever-increasing band of heroes, until the numbers seemed to pass beyond counting. It was a sad world during that war time, but it was a brave world as well.
Among the bravest were the soldiers of Britain. This does not mean only the soldiers of the British Isles. It means the soldiers of the British Empire. It includes men from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the islands of the sea. It also includes natives of India, for many brave deeds were done by the men from that far-off land, who came so willingly to help their Emperor who was also our King.
What is a brave deed? Was it brave of Robert Clive to climb to the top of Market Drayton steeple in his boyhood? We smile at the story, but somehow we feel that the act was not what we should call brave.
It was daring, fearless, and a fine test of steady nerve. But it was not brave or heroic. Why? What was wanting to make it a matter for praise? The call of duty, I think, and I imagine that you will agree with me.
The deed was not done in the course of duty or to help some one in peril. If the boy’s daring had saved the life of a child we should hail him as a hero. A brave deed is a deed done in forgetfulness of self and at the call of duty.
In the Great War thousands of such deeds were done which were never reported. Only now and again a heroic action was brought to the notice of those whose business it was to set it down and to ask the King for a reward. No story of the Great War, however long, will ever tell of all the heroes.
The stories which are collected in this little book are only isolated instances. They are types or examples. But I have tried to tell of those which have some special lesson to teach us. Each of the heroes whose story is told here had a message for all those who were to follow them. It will be well to ask at the end of each story what this lesson was.
One word more, before we begin our stories. It is not true that a brave man feels no fear. Some of the bravest deeds on record have been done in secret fear and trembling.
A story is told of a great leader who always inwardly felt great fear when he was going into action. One day when this dread came upon him, he said to himself, “Ah, you are trembling, are you? But you would tremble more if you knew where I was going to take you to-day.”
Such a man is the bravest of the brave; for he must conquer himself as well as the enemy.
THE VICTORIA CROSS
That man is proud indeed, with the proper kind of pride, who has the right to use the letters V.C. after his name and to wear the medal known as the Victoria Cross. For this is the highest honour that can be won by any man in the British fighting services.
The Victoria Cross is made of bronze, and the picture shows you the exact shape of the medal. It is that of a “Maltese” cross, so called because it was the badge of the company of Christian warriors known as the Knights of Malta.
Hundreds of years ago, in the time of the Crusades, these knights fought against the Turks who held the Holy Places in Palestine and tried to drive them out. You see, then, that the chief medal of our Army and Navy reminds us that we belong to a Christian country, and one which ought always to fight on the side of justice and right.
It was the good Queen Victoria who gave orders for the first Victoria Crosses to be made, as the name of the medal will always remind us. She saw that there was no decoration that could be given to her soldiers and sailors who had done very brave deeds. There were many of these brave men who had fought for her and for their country in the Crimean War which was fought about sixty years before the Great War broke out.
The Queen, therefore, gave careful instructions for the designing and awarding of the new medal. It was to be made from the metal of cannon captured in the Crimean War. In the centre of the bronze cross was to be the figure of a lion standing on guard above the royal crown; and under the crown there was to be a scroll bearing the simple inscription, “For Valour.”
The ribbon attached to the medal was to be blue for the Navy and red for the Army. On the clasp there were to be two branches of laurel, which were to signify that the wearer had been a victor in the fight; for the laurel branch has been for long ages the sign of victory in the arts of peace as well as of war. The Cross was to hang from the clasp on a support made in the shape of a very broad capital letter V.
The first Victoria Crosses were presented by Queen Victoria herself at a review in Hyde Park in London. Not long afterwards the Cross was won in the Indian Mutiny by a young officer who was afterwards to become famous all over the world and to be known as Lord Roberts.
Lord Roberts died in France during the early part of the Great War, though he was too old to be in command of our troops. But his winning of the V.C. has always acted as an example to brave soldiers, and the simple story of what he did may well be told here once more.
He was a lieutenant when he won the Cross, and was fighting in the Indian Mutiny which broke out in 1857. The rebels had gathered together in a certain Indian village; and General Grant received orders from his commander-in-chief, Sir Colin Campbell, to drive them out. He took Roberts with him in the force which was to carry out this piece of work; and although the rebels had several guns and fought with great bravery, they were at last driven out of the village.
While this stern work was going on, Roberts saw two sepoys running away with a British flag. This was a sight to fire the blood of any British officer, and the young lieutenant did not pause to consider what he should do. He rode swiftly down upon the two men, drawing his sword as he came near to them. The men turned and faced him, each with a musket in his hands. Roberts reined in his horse and raised his sword. At that moment the barrel of a musket was pushed close to his face.
There was a sharp click—but no discharge. The cap had missed fire and at the same moment the sepoy carrying the standard was struck to the ground with a blow from Roberts’ sword. As the man fell, the young officer deftly snatched the flag from his dying grasp. The other man dropped his musket and made off at full speed.
Once again Roberts put spurs to his horse to take a further share in the pursuit of the rebels. Some distance away he met with two more sepoys standing at bay, each armed with a musket to which a bayonet was fixed. Not only Roberts but the flag was once more in danger, for it was two against one and the native soldiers were very skilful with their weapons.
Roberts set his teeth and rode straight forward, sword in hand. His attack was so direct and furious that the two men were thrown off their guard. In a moment one of them lay stretched upon the ground and the other had joined once more in the quick retreat.
CAPTAIN GRENFELL AND THE CHARGE OF THE LANCERS