Eric Anderson (VC)
Template:Short description Template:Other people Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox military person Private Eric Anderson (15 September 1915Template:Snd6 April 1943) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), 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
He was born in Fagley in Bradford, West Yorkshire, the only son of George and Mary Anderson.<ref name="CWGC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He became a driver for a building and contracting firm in Idle, West Yorkshire.<ref name="Lister"> Template:Cite book</ref>
Service
Anderson was 27 years old, and a Private in the 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, British Army during the Second World War<ref name="CWGC"/><ref name="VCburials">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="YRM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.<ref name="CWGC"/><ref name="YRM"/>
On 6 April 1943 on the Wadi Akarit, Tunisia, when a company of the East Yorkshire Regiment had to withdraw temporarily behind the crest of a hill, Private Anderson, a stretcher-bearer, went forward alone through heavy fire to rescue the wounded. Three times he brought in wounded comrades, and was rendering first aid to a fourth when he was mortally wounded.<ref name=LG>Template:London Gazette</ref>
He is buried in Sfax War Cemetery in southern Tunisia.<ref name="CWGC"/><ref name="Lister"/><ref name="VCburials"/> His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Prince of Wales Own Regiment of Yorkshire Museum in York.<ref name="VCburials"/>
See also
References
Further reading
- Harvey, David (1999). Monuments to Courage: Victoria Cross Headstones and Memorials. Vol. 1, 1854–1916
- Buzzell, Nora (1997), This England, 3rd Edn., 352pp, Template:ISBN
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External links
- Flickr images: Memorial to Eric Anderson and others at the Victoria Memorial, Bradford.