Maurice James DeaseVC (28 September 1889 – 23 August 1914) was an Irish 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. He was one of the first British officer battle casualties of the war and the first officer to posthumously receive the Victoria Cross.[1]
Career
Nimy railway bridge; the memorial plaque can be seen on the face of the abutment
Nimy Bridge was being defended by a single company of the 4th Royal Fusiliers and a machine-gun section with Dease in command. The gun fire was intense, and the casualties very heavy, but the lieutenant went on firing in spite of his wounds, until he was hit for the fifth time and was carried away.
Though two or three times badly wounded he continued to control the fire of his machine guns at Mons on 23rd Aug., until all his men were shot. He died of his wounds.
Dease was awarded the first Victoria Cross in the Great War and he received it on the first day of the first significant British encounter in that war.
When Lieutenant Dease had been mortally wounded, Private Sidney Godley offered to defend the Railway Bridge while the rest of the section retreated and was also awarded the VC.[4] He was taken prisoner of war.
H. C. O'Neill wrote this account in The Royal Fusiliers in the Great War.
"The machine gun crews were constantly being knocked out. So cramped was their position that when a man was hit he had to be removed before another could take his place. The approach from the trench was across the open, and whenever a gun stopped Lieutenant Maurice Dease... went up to see what was wrong. To do this once called for no ordinary courage. To repeat it several times could only be done with real heroism. Dease was badly wounded on these journeys, but insisted on remaining at duty as long as one of his crew could fire. The third wound proved fatal, and a well deserved VC was awarded him posthumously. By this time both guns had ceased firing, and all the crew had been knocked out. In response to an inquiry whether anyone else knew how to operate the guns Private Godley came forward. He cleared the emplacement under heavy fire and brought the gun into action. But he had not been firing long before the gun was hit and put completely out of action. The water jackets of both guns were riddled with bullets, so that they were no longer of any use. Godley himself was badly wounded and later fell into the hands of the Germans.[5]
Ryan, Mark (2014). The First VCs: The Moving True Story of First World War Heroes Maurice Dease and Sidney Godley. The History Press. ISBN978-0750954518.
Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross' (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)
"Elegant Extracts", the Royal Fusiliers Recipients of the VC (J. P. Kelleher, 2001)