Abraham Acton
{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Abraham Acton
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|VC}}
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| image = VCAbrahamActon.jpg
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1893|12|17|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1915|05|16|1893|12|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = Whitehaven, Cumberland, United Kingdom
| death_place = Festubert, France
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| allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom|23px}}
| branch = {{army|United Kingdom|23px}}
| serviceyears = 1914–1915
| rank = Private
| servicenumber =
| unit = Border Regiment
| commands =
| battles = World War I
| battles_label =
| awards = Victoria Cross
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Abraham Acton VC (17 December 1893 – 16 May 1915) 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.
Biography
Acton was born on 17 December 1893 to Robert and Elizabeth Eleanor Acton, of 4 Regent Square, Senhouse Street, Whitehaven in Cumberland.[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/823218 Acton, Abraham], Commonwealth War Graves Commission{{sfn|Whitworth|2015|p=3}}
He was 21 years old, and a private in the 2nd Battalion, The Border Regiment, British Army during the First World War. He and James Alexander Smith, were both awarded their Victoria Cross for their actions on 21 December 1914 at Rouges Bancs, France.
{{Quote|For conspicuous bravery on 21st December, at Rouges Bancs, in voluntarily going from their trench and rescuing a wounded man who had been lying exposed against the enemy's trenches for 75 hours, and on the same day again leaving their trench voluntarily, under heavy fire, to bring into cover another wounded man.
They were under fire for 60 minutes whilst conveying the wounded men into safety.{{London Gazette|issue=29074|supp=y|page=1700|date=16 February 1915}}}}
He was killed in action at Festubert, France, on 16 May 1915, but his body was never found - he is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial.[http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/ggfrmem1.htm Burial Location of Abraham Acton] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041212042408/http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/ggfrmem1.htm |date=12 December 2004 }} France, victoriacross.org.uk{{sfn|Whitworth|2015|p=4}}
His VC is displayed at The Beacon, Whitehaven, Cumbria, England.
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=Gliddon|first=Gerald|title=1914|series=VCs of the First World War|year=2011|orig-date=1994|publisher=The History Press|location=Stroud, Gloucestershire|isbn=978-0752459080}}
- {{cite book|last=Harvey|first=David|author-link=David Charles Harvey|title=Monuments to Courage|publisher=Naval & Military Press Ltd|year=2000|isbn=1-84342-356-1}}
- {{cite book|last=Whitworth|first=Alan|title=VCs of the North: Cumbria, Durham & Northumberland |year=2015|publisher=Pen and Sword Books|isbn=978-1473848221}}
External links
- [http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/ccbeacon.htm Location of Abraham Acton's Victoria Cross] The Beacon, Whitehaven*
- The Regimental Museum {{cite web
|url=http://www.kingsownbordermuseum.btik.com
|title=The Border and King's Own Royal Border Regiment Museum Carlisle Castle
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930161138/http://www.kingsownbordermuseum.btik.com/
|archivedate=30 September 2007
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acton, Abraham}}
Category:British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:Border Regiment soldiers
Category:British Army personnel of World War I
Category:British military personnel killed in World War I
Category:People from Whitehaven