Joseph Harcourt Tombs

Lance-Corporal, 1st Battalion. King's (Liverpool) Regiment

VC
Register No.
1219 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
Rank
Lance-Corporal (register: Lance Corporal) all Lance-Corporals →
Unit
1st Battalion. King's (Liverpool) Regiment (register: King's (Liverpool Regiment)) all King's (Liverpool Regiment) VCs →
Date of action
16 June 1915 on this day → all of 1915 →
Conflict / campaign
First World War
London Gazette
24th July 1915 on this day → all of 1915 →
Born
in 1884 at Melbourne, Victoria , Australia
Died
28th June 1966 at Toronto, Canada
Memorial / grave
at Pine Hill Cemetery, Toronto, Canada
Medal held by
RHQ of the King's Regiment, Bury, Lancashire

Digest of citation

Lance-Corporal Tombs, on his own initiative, repeatedly made his way out under extremely heavy fire, from shell and machine-gun, in order to bring in some wounded men who were lying, approximately 100 yards, in front of our trenches. He managed to rescue four men, one of whom was so badly wounded that had he not received Medical attention, he surely would have died. This man, Lance-Corporal Tombs dragged back by placing a rifle sling around the man's body and his own neck

From Alf Askin's research notes

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

TOMBS, Joseph Harcourt. (reg No. 1219).

Lance-Corporal. 1st Battalion. King's (Liverpool) Regiment.

London Gazetted on 24th July 1915.

VC Medal's Custodian is RHQ of the King's Regiment, Bury, Lancashire.

Born in 1884 at Melbourne, Victoria , Australia.

Died on 28th June 1966 at Toronto, Canada.

Memorial on grave at Pine Hill Cemetery, Toronto, Canada.

Digest of Citation reads: Lance-Corporal Tombs, on his own initiative, repeatedly made his way out under extremely heavy fire, from shell and machine-gun, in order to bring in some wounded men who were lying, approximately 100 yards, in front of our trenches. He managed to rescue four men, one of whom was so badly wounded that had he not received Medical attention, he surely would have died. This man, Lance-Corporal Tombs dragged back by placing a rifle sling around the man's body and his own neck.

Visit the grave or memorial

Alf recorded the memorial as: at Pine Hill Cemetery, Toronto, Canada

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