John Harrison
Second Lieutenant, 11th (Service) Battalion. East Yorkshire Regiment
- Register No.
- 536 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
- Rank
- Second Lieutenant all Second Lieutenants →
- Unit
- 11th (Service) Battalion. East Yorkshire Regiment all East Yorkshire Regiment VCs →
- Date of action
- 3 May 1917 on this day → all of 1917 →
- Conflict / campaign
- First World War
- London Gazette
- 14th June, 1917 on this day → all of 1917 →
- Born
- 2nd November, 1890 at Drypool, Sculcoates, Kingston-upon-Hull,
- Died
- 3rd May 1917 at Oppy, France (Missing, believed killed
- Award
- Posthumous all posthumous VCs →
- Memorial / grave
- on Arras Memorial France
Digest of citation
On 3rd May 1917 at Oppy, France, owing to darkness, to smoke from the enemy barrage and our own, and to the fact that the objective was in a dark wood, it was impossible to see when our barrage had lifted off the enemy front line. Nevertheless, Second Lieutenant HARRISON twice led his company against the enemy trench under terrific rifle and machine-gun fire, but was repulsed. Then finally he made a dash at the machine-gun, hoping to knock it out of action and so save the lives of many of his company. He was later reported missing, believed killed
From Alf Askin's research notes
Reproduced as Alf wrote it, c. 2000–2005. Spelling and abbreviations are his own.
HARRISON, John. (reg No. 536).
Second Lieutenant. 11th (Service) Battalion. East Yorkshire Regiment.
London Gazetted on 14th June, 1917.
Born on 2nd November, 1890 at Drypool, Sculcoates, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire.
Died on 3rd May 1917 at Oppy, France (Missing, believed killed in action).
Memorial on Arras Memorial France.
Digest of Citation reads: On 3rd May 1917 at Oppy, France, owing to darkness, to smoke from the enemy barrage and our own, and to the fact that the objective was in a dark wood, it was impossible to see when our barrage had lifted off the enemy front line. Nevertheless, Second Lieutenant HARRISON twice led his company against the enemy trench under terrific rifle and machine-gun fire, but was repulsed. Then finally he made a dash at the machine-gun, hoping to knock it out of action and so save the lives of many of his company. He was later reported missing, believed killed.
Additional information:. Second Lieutenant HARRISON also held the Military Cross (MC).
Additional information
Second Lieutenant HARRISON also held the Military Cross (MC).
Yorkshire.
in action).
Visit the grave or memorial
Alf recorded the memorial as: on Arras 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.
Research this recipient further
Would you like to honour John Harrison by sponsoring this page from £1 a month — in memory of someone, in your own name or for your company? Sponsor this page.