John William Harper
Corporal, 4th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
- Register No.
- 533 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
- Rank
- Corporal all Corporals →
- Unit
- 4th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment all York and Lancaster Regiment VCs →
- Date of action
- 29 September 1944 on this day → all of 1944 →
- Conflict / campaign
- Second World War
- London Gazette
- 2nd January, 1945 on this day → all of 1945 →
- Born
- 6th August, 1916 at Doncaster, Yorkshire
- Died
- 29th September, 1944 at Depot de Mendicite, Antwerp, Belgium
- Award
- Posthumous all posthumous VCs →
- Memorial / grave
- at Leopoldsberg War Cemetery, Belgium and on the War Memorial at Hatfield Woodhouse and at Thorne Parish Church, both near Doncaster, Yorkshire
- Medal held by
- The York And Lancaster Regimental. Museum
Digest of citation
On 29th September, 1944 during an assault on the Depot de Mendicite, Antwerp, 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
From Alf Askin's research notes
Reproduced as Alf wrote it, c. 2000–2005. Spelling and abbreviations are his own.
HARPER, John William. (reg No. 533).
Corporal. 4th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment.
London Gazetted on 2nd January, 1945.
VC Medal's Custodian is The York And Lancaster Regimental. Museum Born on 6th August, 1916 at Doncaster, Yorkshire.
Died on 29th September, 1944 at Depot de Mendicite, Antwerp, Belgium. (killed in action).
Memorial on grave at Leopoldsberg War Cemetery, Belgium and on the War Memorial at Hatfield Woodhouse and at Thorne Parish Church, both near Doncaster, Yorkshire.
Digest of Citation reads: On 29th September, 1944 during an assault on the Depot de Mendicite, Antwerp, 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.
(killed in action).
Visit the grave or memorial
Alf recorded the memorial as: at Leopoldsberg War Cemetery, Belgium and on the War Memorial at Hatfield Woodhouse and at Thorne Parish Church, both near Doncaster, Yorkshire
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 William Harper by sponsoring this page from £1 a month — in memory of someone, in your own name or for your company? Sponsor this page.