Harry Sherwood Ranken
Encyclopedia
Harry Sherwood Ranken VC
(3 September 1883 - 25 September 1914) was a Scottish
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.
, British Army
, attached to 1st Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps
during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 19 and 20 September 1914 at Haute-Avesnes
, France
, Captain Ranken was severely wounded in the leg whilst attending to his duties on the battlefield under shrapnel and rifle fire. He arrested the bleeding from this and bound it up, then continued to dress the wounds of his men, sacrificing his own chance of survival to their needs. When he finally permitted himself to be carried to the rear his case had become almost desperate and he died on 25 September.
Ranken is buried in Braine Communal Cemetery.
(Aldershot, England).
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....
(3 September 1883 - 25 September 1914) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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.
Details
Ranken was 31 years old, and a captain in the Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
, 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...
, attached to 1st Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 19 and 20 September 1914 at Haute-Avesnes
Haute-Avesnes
Haute-Avesnes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Haute-Avesnes is situated west of Arras, at the junction of the N39 and the D62 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:...
, 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 Ranken was severely wounded in the leg whilst attending to his duties on the battlefield under shrapnel and rifle fire. He arrested the bleeding from this and bound it up, then continued to dress the wounds of his men, sacrificing his own chance of survival to their needs. When he finally permitted himself to be carried to the rear his case had become almost desperate and he died on 25 September.
Ranken is buried in Braine Communal Cemetery.
Legacy
Ranken worked at the Brook fever hospital in South East London, which was on the site adjacent to the Royal Herbert Military Hospital; the original hospital designed on the principles laid down by Florence Nightingale after the Crimean war. When the military hospital moved across the road to a new set of buildings around 1970 - the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital - the administration block at the QE was named after him - Ranken House. The QE has since been largely rebuilt and is now a civilian hospital, but the name has been preserved. Harry Ranken's photograph and a copy of his citation are still proudly displayed in the reception area of Ranken House.The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Army Medical Services MuseumArmy Medical Services Museum
The Army Medical Services Museum is located in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett, Surrey, England. It moved into its present building in 1982...
(Aldershot, England).