John William Harper

John William Harper VC (6 August 1916 – 29 September 1944) 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.

John William Harper
Born(1916-08-06)6 August 1916
Hatfield, South Yorkshire, England
Died29 September 1944(1944-09-29) (aged 28)
Merksplas, Belgium
Buried
Leopoldsburg War Cemetery
(51°6′44.17″N 5°16′6.47″E)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1939–1944
RankCorporal
Service number4751678
UnitYork and Lancaster Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsVictoria Cross

Birth

John William Harper was born in Hatfield, Doncaster, South Yorkshire on 6 August 1916 to George Ernest Harper and his wife, Florence Parkin.

Details

Harper was 28 years old, and a corporal in the 4th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, British Army during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 29 September 1944 during an assault on the Depot de Mendicite, Merksplas, Belgium, Corporal Harper led his section across 300 yards of completely exposed ground, with utter disregard for the hail of mortar bombs and small arms fire from the enemy. He was killed in the action, but the subsequent capture of the position was largely due to his self-sacrifice.[1]

The medal

His Victoria Cross is held at The York & Lancaster Regiment Museum in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.

Memorials

His remains now lie at the War Cemetery at Leopoldsburg, near Limburg, Belgium, Plot No.5, Row B, Grave No.15.51°6′44.17″N 5°16′6.47″E

External image
Corporal Harper's name inscribed on the Hatfield Cemetery War Memorial

His name is inscribed on the Hatfield Cemetery War Memorial.[2]

gollark: And it's "great"!
gollark: tio!debug
gollark: ```c#define let char*#define var char#define auto int*#define fn int#include <stdio.h>fn main() { let s = "abcdefghijklmnqoprastjasdhasdua"; fn x = 4; *s = x; printf("%s", s);}```
gollark: It's "great! I can make it look "better!"
gollark: Yes.

References
  1. "No. 36870". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1944. pp. 139–140.
  2. Family history from The Isle of Axholme
External image
Photograph of Corporal Harper's tombstone in the Leopoldsburg War Cemetery


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.