John Beeley
Rifleman, The King's Royal Rifle Corps
- Register No.
- 70 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
- Rank
- Rifleman all Riflemans →
- Unit
- The King's Royal Rifle Corps all King's Royal Rifle Corps VCs →
- Date of action
- 21 November 1941 on this day → all of 1941 →
- Conflict / campaign
- Second World War
- London Gazette
- 21st April 1942 on this day → all of 1942 →
- Born
- 8th February 1918 at Manchester, Lancashire
- Died
- 21st November 1941 at Sidi Rezegh, Western Desert
- Award
- Posthumous all posthumous VCs →
- Memorial / grave
- Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Acroma, North Africa
- Medal held by
- the Royal Green Jackets Museum
Digest of citation
On 21st November 1941 at Sidi Rezegh,, Libya, at an airfield being attacked by Rifleman Beeley's company, progress was held up by short range fire. All the offices of the company were wounded so, on his own initiative the rifleman ran forward over open ground, firing his Ben Gun and at 20 yards range put an anti-tank gun and two machine-guns out of action. He was killed but his bravery inspired his comrades to further efforts to reach their objective, which was eventually captured, together with 700 prisoners
From Alf Askin's research notes
Reproduced as Alf wrote it, c. 2000–2005. Spelling and abbreviations are his own.
BEELEY, John. (Reg. No. 70).
Rifleman The King's Royal Rifle Corps.
London Gazetted on 21st April 1942.
VC Medal's Custodian is the Royal Green Jackets Museum.
Born on 8th February 1918 at Manchester, Lancashire.
Died on 21st November 1941 at Sidi Rezegh, Western Desert.
Memorial at Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Acroma, North Africa.
Digest of Citation reads: On 21st November 1941 at Sidi Rezegh,, Libya, at an airfield being attacked by Rifleman Beeley's company, progress was held up by short range fire. All the offices of the company were wounded so, on his own initiative the rifleman ran forward over open ground, firing his Ben Gun and at 20 yards range put an anti-tank gun and two machine-guns out of action. He was killed but his bravery inspired his comrades to further efforts to reach their objective, which was eventually captured, together with 700 prisoners.
Visit the grave or memorial
Alf recorded the memorial as: Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Acroma, North Africa
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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