Hubert James Willey, DCM & Bar

Distinguished Conduct Medal

The Distinguished Conduct Medal was an extremely high level award for bravery. It was a second level military decoration awarded to other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to non-commissioned personnel of other Commonwealth countries.The medal was instituted in 1854, during the Crimean...

 (11 July 1897-6 September 1948) was twice awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, then the second highest British gallantry award, for his service on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

, during the First World War.

Born in Dublin, the second son of James Willey and Emily Maud Bannister, he joined the Rifle Brigade soon after the outbreak of war.

He was first awarded the DCM for an action in 1915, just over a month after his eighteenth birthday. The citation published in the London Gazette

London Gazette

The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...

 of 16 November 1915 reads:

B/2391 Serjeant

Serjeant

Serjeant may be:*The holder of a serjeanty, a type of feudal land-holding in England*A generally obsolete spelling of Sergeant, although still used in some English regiments, and for Serjeant-at-Arms...

 H.J.Willey, 9th Battalion, Rifle Brigade.

For conspicuous gallantry and ability on the 25th September, 1915, on Bellewaarde Ridge. During the action Serjeant Willey passed continually backwards and forwards trying to establish communication with the Battalion on his right, and later, when all his Officers had been killed, he rallied and organised the men of his own and other Companies, and captured a position in the German second line trenches, which he held against all counter attacks. During the day he was under incessant machine gun and shell fire. He also took six prisoners, and made them carry back the wounded of his party. He exhibited the greatest bravery and devotion to duty.

He was awarded a bar to his DCM for an action in 1917, gazetted 22 October 1917:

B/2391 Sjt H.J.Willey, Rif. Bde. (Stoke Newington).

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led his platoon through a heavy barrage to reinforce another unit which was being strongly counter-attacked. He rallied men who had been driven back and led them forward. Though counter-attacked again and losing heavily, he held on to his position, which was one of the greatest importance, until relieved. He set a splendid example to all.

He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 in the Rifle Brigade in May 1918, promoted in 1919 and again to A/Captain

Captain (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 1920, leaving the Army that year.

Later in 1920 he joined the Metropolitan Police

Metropolitan police

Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...

 in London. On 9 December 1922 he married Lillian May Brocklebank and together they had a daughter and a son. During much of the 1920s and '30s, Willey served as a detective in Special Branch

Special Branch

Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...

, earning several commendations for arrests in firearms and other cases. In the Second World War Willey was awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct

Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct

Instituted in 1939 by King George VI as the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct acknowledged brave acts by civilians and members of the military in non-warlike circumstances during a time of war or in peacetime where the action would not otherwise be...

 for his actions during the London Blitz.

Willey died in 1948, still serving with the Metropolitan Police, commanding the Wimbledon

Wimbledon, London

Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...

 sub-division of V Division, in the rank of Sub-Divisional Inspector

Sub-Divisional Inspector

Sub-divisional inspector was a rank used in the London Metropolitan Police from the 1870s or 1880s until 1949. A sub-divisional inspector ranked above an inspector and below a chief inspector. As the title suggests, he or she commanded a sub-division or held an equivalent administrative position...

 (a now abolished rank equivalent to the modern Superintendent

Superintendent (police)

Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...

). He was survived by his wife and children.