Abraham Acton

Private, 2nd Battn The Border Regiment

VC
Register No.
5 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
Rank
Private all Privates →
Unit
2nd Battn The Border Regiment all Border Regiment VCs →
Date of action
21 December 1914 on this day → all of 1914 →
Conflict / campaign
First World War
London Gazette
18th February 1915 on this day → all of 1915 →
Born
17th December 1892 at Whitehaven, Cumberland
Died
16th May 1915 at Festubert, France
Memorial / grave
Le Touret Memorial, France
Medal held by
The Beacon, Whitehaven, Cumberland

Digest of citation

On 21 December 1914 at Rouge Bancs, France, Private Acton and Private James Smith (Reg. No. 1163) went out from their trench and rescued a wounded man who had been lying exposed against the enemy's trenches for 75 hours. On the same day they again left their trench under heavy fire to bring in another wounded man. They were under fire for the 60 minutes it took to convey the wounded man to safety

From Alf Askin's research notes

Reproduced as Alf wrote it, c. 2000–2005. Spelling and abbreviations are his own.

ACTON, Abraham (Reg. No. 5)

Private 2nd Battn The Border Regiment.

VC Medal's Custodian is The Beacon, Whitehaven.

London Gazetted on 18th February 1915 VC Medal's Custodian is The Beacon, Whitehaven, Cumberland.

Born on 17th December 1892 at Whitehaven, Cumberland.

Died on 16th May 1915 at Festubert, France.

Memorial at Le Touret Memorial, France..

Digest of Citation reads:: On 21 December 1914 at Rouge Bancs, France, Private Acton and Private James Smith (Reg. No. 1163) went out from their trench and rescued a wounded man who had been lying exposed against the enemy's trenches for 75 hours. On the same day they again left their trench under heavy fire to bring in another wounded man. They were under fire for the 60 minutes it took to convey the wounded man to safety.

Visit the grave or memorial

Alf recorded the memorial as: Le Touret Memorial, France

Map links open a search for the place name Alf recorded; please check opening times and exact locations before travelling. Many VC graves have since been restored by the Victoria Cross Trust.

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