Richard Sandford
{{short description|English recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Richard Sandford
| image = Richard Douglas Sandford (1891–1918).png
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1891|05|11|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Cathedral Close, Exeter, Devon
| death_date = {{death date and age|1918|11|23|1891|05|11|df=yes}}
| death_place = Eston Hospital, Yorkshire
| placeofburial = Eston Cemetery
| allegiance = United Kingdom
| branch = Royal Navy
| serviceyears = 1904–1918
| rank = Lieutenant
| servicenumber =
| unit =
| battles = First World War
| awards = Victoria Cross
| relations = Brigadier Daniel Sandford (brother)
| laterwork =
}}
Richard Douglas Sandford, VC (11 May 1891 – 23 November 1918) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was a son of the Venerable Ernest Grey Sandford, Archdeacon of Exeter; his great-grandfather was Daniel Sandford, the Bishop of Edinburgh, and his brother was Brigadier Daniel Sandford.
Biography
File:Richard Sandford IWM Q 104329.jpg
Richard Sandford was born on 11 May 1891.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UIosmy8NRwQC&pg=PA289 |title=The V.C. and D.S.O. |volume=I |editor1-first=O'Moore |editor1-last=Creagh |editor1-link=O'Moore Creagh |editor2-first=E. M. |editor2-last=Humphris |publisher=The Standard Art Book Company |place=London |page=289 |date=1924 |access-date=2025-03-28 |via=Google Books}} He attended Clifton College, whence he joined the Royal Navy. At 26 years old, he was a lieutenant commanding a submarine, HMS C3 in the Royal Navy during the First World War when he took part in the Zeebrugge Raid and won the Victoria Cross. The citation read:
{{blockquote|On 22/23 April 1918 at Zeebrugge, Belgium, Lieutenant Sandford commanding HM Submarine C.3, skilfully placed the vessel between the piles of the viaduct which connected the Mole with the shore, before laying his fuse and abandoning her. He disdained to use the gyro steering which would have enabled him and his crew to abandon the submarine at a safe distance, but preferred to make sure that his mission would be successful.{{London Gazette |issue=30807|date=23 July 1918 |pages=8585–8586 |supp=y }}}}
Sandford died of typhoid fever at Eston Hospital,{{Lives of WWI | id= 6902996 | name= Richard Douglas Sandford }} North Yorkshire, 12 days after the signing of the Armistice, and the day after his last command, HMS G11, had been wrecked on rocks off Howick, Northumberland. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20041027211955/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/clevelan.htm Location of grave and VC medal] (Cleveland)
- [http://www.dropbears.com/w/ww1subs/citation.htm Sandford VC] (action details & citation)
- {{find a Grave|8153896}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandford, Richard Douglas}}
Category:People educated at Clifton College
Category:Burials in North Yorkshire
Category:Military personnel from Exeter
Category:Deaths from typhoid fever in the United Kingdom
Category:British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
Category:Royal Navy submarine commanders
Category:Infectious disease deaths in England
Category:Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross