Walter Napleton Stone
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Walter Napleton Stone (December 7, 1891 - November 30, 1917) 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. He was born in Blackheath, London.
Details
He was 25 years old, and a Acting Captain in the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers, British Army, attached 17th (Service) Battalion during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 30 November 1917 in the Cambrai Sector, France, Captain Stone, commanding an isolated company 1,000 yards in front of our main line, saw the enemy massing for an attack and sent invaluable information to battalion headquarters. He was ordered to withdraw, leaving a rearguard to cover the withdrawal. As the attack developed with unexpected speed, he sent three platoons back and remained with the rearguard. He stood on the parapet with the telephone, under terrific bombardment, sending back vital information until the line was cut on his orders. The rearguard was eventually cut to pieces, and Captain Stone was seen fighting to the last.
Further information
W_n_stone_vc_memorial.jpg
There is a memorial to Walter Napleton Stone in Greenwich Cemetery, south-east London. The actual grave has never been located.
Greenwich cemetery is misleadingly named; it is actually off Well Hall Road, Eltham, which is part of the South Circular near where it crosses Shooter's Hill. The War Memorial in the centre is exceptionally large, probably because it is close to the Sidney Herbert military hospital (now converted to luxury flats) and the Woolwich Barracks (which probably soon will be given the way defence spending is going).
About thirty yards in front of the War Memorial is a group of graves of the Stone family. On the largest are the names of Walter's parents, and underneath the inscription:
- "also in memory of Lt Col Arthur Stone DSO, 16th Lanc Fusiliers, second son of the above, killed October 2nd 1918......; and Capt Walter Napleton Stone VC, 17th Royal Fusiliers, fifth son of the above, killed Bourlon Wood, France, November 30th 1917, presumed buried by the Germans near Moeuvres."
please update if you know where his medal is publicly displayed
Reference
- "Elegant Extracts" - The Royal Fusiliers Recipients of the VC (J.P. Kelleher, 2001)
- Monuments To Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
This page has been migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference (http://www.victoriacross.net) with permission.