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THOMAS ORDE LAWDER WILKINSON V.C.
Ruyton`s VC by proxy
With the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First
World war, family and local historians are looking at our own connections to
those who joined up to serve their country.
In 1860 Rev. Frederick Paget
Wilkinson and his wife, Jane Ellen Orde and their two children moved to Ruyton
XI Towns to take the living of St. John the Baptist Church. On 30th May 1862 their third
child Charles Ernest Orde Wilkinson, was born at the Vicarage, They went on to
have another 6 boys and lastly, a girl.
After a spell in Somerset and then
Ireland, in 1913 the family, now with 6
children, moved to Comex in British Columbia, Canada. It is only at this stage that we really get
to know detailed information about Thomas Orde Lawder Wilkinson.
Thomas joined up on 23rd
September 1914, aged 20 years and 3 months, just two months after war was
declared. Although he puts his previous
experience as 4 years in the Officer`s Training Corps, he signed on as a
private in the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards of the Royal
Canadian Armoured Corps.
His application form says his
next of kin is Wilkinson, C.E. but does not state his relationship. His address as Lazo Post Office, Comax, BC.
His country of birth was
Bridgnorth, Salop, England, he was single, Church of England and his trade or
calling was surveyor. Thomas was 5ft 11
inches, chest measurement 36 inches (expansion 3 inches), he had brown hair, a
fair complexion and blue eyes and 4 vaccination marks on his left arm – these
would have been an important distinguishing mark which could be used to
identify a body (assuming the arm was still there).
There are some intriguing
anomalies here – After 4 years in the OTC why did Thomas not apply to be an
officer? Why has he left out O. for Orde
in his father`s name? Why does he not
say he is his father and why does he give his address as a post office? One has to wonder if he joined up against his
father`s wishes.
Promotions or appointments dated 4/11/15 offers a further
question:-
1. “The present whereabouts of
this man is unknown, 16th Battn says he did not proceed overseas
with the Battn. Hdglo (?) Canadians have
no word for him being struck off strength”.
The 7th Battalian
landed at Boulogne on 17th July 1915 so Thomas would have been in
the thick of the Somme Offensive which lasted from 1st July 1916 to
18th November for the gain of 6km from the enemy. Sadly, Thomas Wilkinson did not make it to
the end of the battle for he fell on 26th September.
The citation for Thomas Lawder Orde`s Wilkinson Victoria Cross
Citation: an extract from “The London gazette dated September 26 1916.For most conspicuous bravery.
During an attack, when a party of another unit was retiring without their
machine-gun, Lieut. Wilkinson rushed forward, and, with two of his men, got the
gun into action, and held up the enemy till they were relieved. Later, when the
advance was checked during a bombing attack, he forced his way forward and
found four or five men of different units stopped by a solid block of earth,
over which the enemy was throwing bombs. With great pluck and promptness he
mounted a machine-gun on the top of the parapet and dispersed the enemy
bombers. Subsequently he made two most gallant attempts to bring in a wounded
man, but at the second attempt he was shot through the heart just before
reaching the man. Throughout the day he set a magnificent example of courage
and self-sacrifice.
Honours and Awards:
Victoria Cross
His body was never recovered
intact. Wilkinson is commemorated on the
British Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval on the Somme. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the
Imperial War Museum in London.
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| Thomas, probably taken when he joined up | The painting, unknown artist, from the The British Empire magazine, part 42 | The only known picture of Rev. Wilkinson |
