Read about Pte. Sidney Godley who was the first Private to recieve the VC in The Mirror this morning whose medal is up for sale (which now i can't find) so have googled him and thought i would share with the forum in my eyes a very interesting read. So here a few links has there is many i don't no which is best to post so here goes. Also Lt. Maurice Dease who sadly was killed also recieved the VC. The National Archives | DocumentsOnline | Famous Names - Sidney Godley Sidney Godley : First World War : Biography Here is the memorial to Sidney on Find a Grave Sydney Frank Godley (1889 - 1957) - Find A Grave Memorial A link to Nimy bridge and the memorial to 4th Royal Fusiliers and Pte.Godley and Lt.Dease Nimy August 1914 Some details on Lt.Dease Irish VCs - Irish Regiments And Lt.Dease from Find a Grave Maurice James Dease (1889 - 1914) - Find A Grave Memorial
A link to Nimy bridge and the memorial to 4th Royal Fusiliers and Pte.Godley and Lt.Dease The memorial at the bridge has been nicked recently. Perhaps the thief will buy the VC as addition to his Godley display.
Here you go, Michael. Watch this bit from the late, great Richard Holmes. It features Sid Godley VC and Maurice Dease VC. [YOUTUBE]hKy75FTZHGU[/YOUTUBE]
Just heard that the medal has been sold. Didnt catch how much for. edit: £230 000 LOUGHTON: War hero's Victoria Cross sells for £230,000 (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
The first Victoria Cross awarded to a private in World War I has sold for £230,000 at auction. The medal, awarded to Pte Sidney Godley, of East Grinstead, West Sussex, was expected to fetch up to £180,000. Pte Godley manned a machine-gun position defending Nimy Bridge in Mons while under fire from German soldiers in the first weeks of the war. He received the top military honour from King George V in 1919 after four years as a prisoner of war. Read more BBC News - Victoria Cross fetches £230,000 at auction
A shame that Ancestry cant catalogue his MIC better, considering how much money they make Search for his two cards and you get the two cards of some unrelated officer
Here's some photos of the bridge & memorial I took on 2nd Aug whilst on holiday. Stopped for a picnic on what would have been the British side of the canal at the start of the battle.
BBC3 showed a dramatisation of the action. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p022wq5k/our-world-war-1-the-first-day Only watched a bit of it just now. Didnt see it when it was aired.
Royal Fusiliers in the Great War: https://archive.org/stream/royalfusiliersin00onei#page/n0/mode/2up https://archive.org/search.php?query=royal%20fusiliers