The First VCs: The Moving True Story of First World War Heroes Maurice Dease and Frank Godley

by Mark Ryan

Overview

What would you do if you were struck by an enemy bullet in wartime, then realized you were still alive? For most of us, that would be the end of our fight. If we were capable of thought while we tried to cope with the pain, we’d probably hope to be rushed to hospital, so that someone could save our lives. But a hundred years ago, in the opening battle of World War I at Mons, two young men didn’t react like that. Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Private Sidney Godley, born only weeks apart into sharply contrasting worlds, shared the same defiance. They didn’t think of themselves and went back for more, sustaining dreadful wounds in the process. One man died, the other lived—pieced back together painstakingly by the Germans, who had taken so many casualties of their own while overrunning the British position. Together Dease and Godley became the first winners of the Victoria Cross in World War I.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750954518
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	10/01/2014
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Mark Ryan is the author of The Hornet's Sting, The Last Torpedo Flyers, and Running with Fire.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction 10

1 Privilege and Pain 17

2 Birdman, Ironman, Army 30

3 Beyond Control 41

4 Mollie and the Horses 52

5 The Road to Mons 63

6 Intelligence 72

7 NimyBridge 84

8 Maurice James Dease, VC 94

9 Sidney Frank Godley, VC 105

10 Aftermath 115

11 Not Knowing 125

12 Wounds, Death and Decorations 136

13 The Heavy Price of Glory 147

14 Survivor 157

15 A Hero's Wedding 167

16 Gunner Godley and Old Bill 177

17 Remembering… and Learning Nothing 188

18 Bombs, Dentists and the Final Battle 198

Postscript: The Centenary 213

Bibliography 216

Index 218