Alfred Cecil Herring
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox military person
Major Alfred Cecil Herring Template:Post-nominals (26 October 1888 – 10 August 1966) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Early life
Alfred Cecil Herring was educated at Tottenham County School where he was captain of the school at cricket and football.<ref>Max Arthur, Symbol of Courage: The Men Behind the Medal, p320, Pan Macmillan, 2005, Template:ISBN, 9780330491334</ref>
Details
He was 29 years old, and a temporary second lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps,<ref name="RASC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> British Army, attached to 6th (S) Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 23/24 March 1918 at Montagne Bridge, France, the enemy had gained a position on the south bank of the canal and Second Lieutenant Herring's post was surrounded, but he immediately counter-attacked and recaptured the position, together with 20 prisoners and six machine-guns. During the night the post was continually attacked, but all attacks were beaten off, largely because Lieutenant Herring was frequently visiting his men and cheering them up. It was owing to his bravery and magnificent handling of his troops that the enemy advance was held up for 11 hours at a very critical period.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Further information
He was born in Tottenham, north London.<ref>GRO Register of Births: DEC 1888 3a 3_7 EDMONTON - Alfred Cecil Herring</ref> He later achieved the rank of major. He was a Chartered Accountant by profession <ref>History of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Sir Harold Howitt, Heinemann, London 1966</ref>
In 2006, a new pub on Green Lanes, Palmers Green, in north London, formerly run by the Wetherspoons chain, was named after him. They sold the pub in May 2024 and it reopened later in the year under independent management.<ref>The Times, City Diary, 2006-05-31Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the New Royal Logistic Corps Museum, RHQ The RLC, Building 204, Worthy Down Barracks, Winchester. SO21 2RG. (date 2021) signed KMB
References
Bibliography
External links
- Location of grave and VC medal (Woking Crematorium)
- Pages with broken file links
- 1888 births
- 1966 deaths
- Royal Army Service Corps officers
- British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
- British Army personnel of World War I
- People from Tottenham
- British World War I prisoners of war
- World War I prisoners of war held by Germany
- British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross
- Military personnel from the London Borough of Haringey