David Nelson (VC)
{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{For|other people named David Nelson|David Nelson (disambiguation){{!}}David Nelson}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= David Nelson
|honorific_suffix= VC
|birth_date={{birth date|df=y|1887|4|3}}
|death_date={{death date and age|df=y|1918|4|8|1886|4|3}}
|birth_place=Stranooden, County Monaghan, Ireland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
|death_place=Lillers, French Third Republic
|placeofburial= France
|image= David Nelson VC.jpg
|image_size=
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|serviceyears= 1904–1918
|rank= Major
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|commands=D Battery, 59th Brigade
|unit=Royal Artillery
|battles=World War I{{KIA}}
|awards= Victoria Cross
|laterwork=
}}
Major David Nelson VC (3 April 1887 – 8 April 1918) was an Irish 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.
Military career
Nelson was born in Deraghland, Stranooden, County Monaghan, Ireland, to David Nelson and Mary Anne Black. He was 28 years old, and a sergeant in 'L' Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (RHA), British Army during World War I when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
{{main|Action at Néry}}
On 1 September 1914 at Néry, France, Sergeant Nelson helped to bring the guns into action – with an officer (Edward Kinder Bradbury) and a warrant officer (George Thomas Dorrell) – under heavy fire and in spite of being severely wounded. He remained with the guns until all the ammunition was expended, although he had been ordered to retire to cover.{{London Gazette|issue=28976|page=9374|date=13 November 1914}}
Nelson later achieved the rank of major. He was killed in action at Lillers, France, on 8 April 1918.
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London and his action at Néry is commemorated in a display at the Cart and Wagon Shed heritage centre in Shoeburyness.
References
{{Reflist}}
Listed in order of publication year
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
- {{cite journal|first=Brian D. H.|last=Clarke|title=A register of awards to Irish-born officers and men|journal=The Irish Sword|volume=XVI|issue=64|pages=185–287|year=1986}}
- Ireland's VCs {{ISBN|1-899243-00-3}} (Dept of Economic Development, 1995)
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)
- {{cite book|last=Gliddon|first=Gerald|title=1914|series=VCs of the First World War|year=2011|orig-date=1994|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-0752459080}}
External links
- [http://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/2037 Dictionary of Ulster Biography]
- {{Lives of WWI | id= 3219326 | name= David Nelson }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, David}}
Category:Irish officers in the British Army
Category:People from County Monaghan
Category:Irish World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:Royal Artillery officers
Category:British military personnel killed in World War I
Category:British Army personnel of World War I
Category:Royal Horse Artillery soldiers
Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross