Anketell Moutray Read
Encyclopedia
Anketell Moutray Read VC
(27 October 1884 - 25 September 1915) was an English
recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth
forces.
Captain Read was well-known as an athlete and won the heavyweight championship (boxing) of India eight times, and the middle-weight twice. He also won the Army and Navy heavyweight championship at Aldershot and Portsmouth three times, an unequalled record. During one match, an opponent recalls wishing to throw in the towel against Read, citing his "devastating jab". As a result, Read earned the nickname "Widowmaker".
Mrs. Moutray Read received news of her son's death while living at 3 Wentworth Place, Wicklow, Co. Wicklow, also a British Army Field Hospital Supplies Depot. Captain Read is listed on a brass commemorative plaque along with other local men at Wicklow Parish Church, Wicklow, Co. Wicklow.
in the 1st Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment, British Army
during the First World War
when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 25 September 1915 near Hulluch
, France
, Captain Read, although partially gassed, went out several times in order to rally parties of different units which were disorganised and retiring. He led them back into the firing line and regardless of danger to himself, moved about under withering fire, encouraging them, but he was mortally wounded while carrying out this gallant work. He had shown conspicuous bravery on other occasions, particularly on the night of 29/30 July when he carried out of action an officer who was mortally wounded, under a hot fire of rifle and grenades.
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(27 October 1884 - 25 September 1915) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces.
Background
He was the son of Col. J. Moutray Read of Cheltenham and Mrs. E. Moutray Read of St. Leonards on Sea, East Sussex. He was born in October 1884 and educated at Glengarth, Cheltenham, and at the United Service College, Westward Ho, and passed direct into Sandhurst in 1901. Gazetted to the Gloucester Regiment, he served with them three years in India. He transferred to the Seventh Hariana Lancers, and exchanged to the Northants. Regiment in 1911. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1912, and went with them to France with the first Expeditionary Force in August 1914. He fought at Mons and in the retreat to the Marne. He was attached to the 9th Lancers, and while with them was severely wounded during the fighting on the Aisne in September 1914.Captain Read was well-known as an athlete and won the heavyweight championship (boxing) of India eight times, and the middle-weight twice. He also won the Army and Navy heavyweight championship at Aldershot and Portsmouth three times, an unequalled record. During one match, an opponent recalls wishing to throw in the towel against Read, citing his "devastating jab". As a result, Read earned the nickname "Widowmaker".
Mrs. Moutray Read received news of her son's death while living at 3 Wentworth Place, Wicklow, Co. Wicklow, also a British Army Field Hospital Supplies Depot. Captain Read is listed on a brass commemorative plaque along with other local men at Wicklow Parish Church, Wicklow, Co. Wicklow.
Details
He was 30 years old, and a captainCaptain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in the 1st Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment, British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 25 September 1915 near Hulluch
Hulluch
Hulluch is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:An ex-coalmining town, now a farming commune, situated some north of Lens, at the junction of the D947 and the D39 roads.-History:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Captain Read, although partially gassed, went out several times in order to rally parties of different units which were disorganised and retiring. He led them back into the firing line and regardless of danger to himself, moved about under withering fire, encouraging them, but he was mortally wounded while carrying out this gallant work. He had shown conspicuous bravery on other occasions, particularly on the night of 29/30 July when he carried out of action an officer who was mortally wounded, under a hot fire of rifle and grenades.
Further information
Captain Read is buried in the Dud Corner Cemetery, Le Rutoire, near Loos, France. 2 miles NW of Lens. Plot VII, Row F, Grave 19.The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of The Northamptonshire Regiment (48th & 58th Foot), Northampton, England.