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Auction: 12002 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 435

A Superb Great War 1918 ´German March Offensive´ V.C., M.M. Group of Six to Corporal A.H. Cross, Machine Gun Corps, For Single-Handedly Attacking and Re-Capturing A Most Dangerous Previously-Held British Position and Two Machine-Guns Whilst Armed Only With a Single Revolver; Corporal Cross´s German Prisoners Obliged Him by Carrying his Re-Captured Machine-Guns Back to His Retreated Company Line, Where They Were Quickly Brought into Action and Assisted in Ruining a Major German Attack a) Victoria Cross, reverse of suspension bar engraved ´62990 Pte. (A/L. Cpl.) A.H. Cross. 40th. Bn. M.G. Corps.´, reverse of Cross engraved ´25. Mar. 1918.´, with Hancocks, London, case of issue b) Military Medal, G.V.R. (62990 Pte.- A.Cpl.- A.H. Cross. 40/M.G.C.) c) British War and Victory Medals (62990 Cpl. A.H. Cross. M.G.C.) d) Coronation 1937, with box of issue e) Coronation 1953, with box of issue, nearly very fine or better, mounted as originally worn, together with the following comprehensive archive of related items and documents &c.: - Invitation named to Corporal A.H. and Mrs. Cross to a Reception hosted by Their Majesties for Recipients of the Victoria Cross, at Buckingham Palace, 26.6.1920, in glazed frame - Invitation named to A.H. Cross Esq., V.C. to a Dinner hosted by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales for Recipients of the Victoria Cross, at the House of Lords, 9.11.1921, in glazed frame - Programme for a Special Performance of Journey´s End given in honour of recipients of the Victoria Cross, Prince of Wales´ Theatre, London, 10.11.1929, and signed by a number of V.C. recipients - Programme for the Victory Celebrations, 8.6.1946 - Invitation named to Mr. A.H. Cross, V.C., to the Celebrations to mark the Centenary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, London, 25-26.6.1956 - Typed Programme of Events for the Victoria Cross Centenary Celebrations - Invitation named to A.H. Cross Esq., V.C. to a Reception at Simpson Services Club to mark the Centenary of the Victoria Cross, 25.6.1956 - Two tickets for the Service of Commemoration to mark the Centenary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, Westminster Abbey, 25.6.1956 - Programme for the Service of Thanksgiving on the occasion of the Centenary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, Westminster Abbey, 25.6.1956 - Invitation named to Mr. A.H. Cross to Tea in the House of Commons, 25.6.1956 - Invitation named to Mr. A.H. and Mrs. Cross to Tea in Westminster Hall, 25.6.1956 - Two tickets for the Government Reception in Westminster Hall, 25.6.1956 - Ticket for the V.C. Centenary Celebrations Parade in Hyde Park, 26.6.1956 - Programme for the Victoria Cross Centenary Review of Holders of the Decoration by Her Majesty the Queen, Hyde Park, 26.6.1956, together with a copy of H.M. The Queen´s address given on the occasion - Order of Form-up for the Victoria Cross Centenary Review, Hyde Park, 26.6.1956 - Typed instructions for Holders of the Victoria Cross for the Hyde Park Review, 26.6.1956 - Two tickets for the Garden Party at Marlborough House to mark the Centenary of the Institution of the Victoria Cross, 26.6.1956 - Copy of the brochure for the Victoria Cross Centenary Exhibition, Marlborough House, 1956, and the accompanying book on the stories of the Winning of the Victoria Crosses represented in the Exhibition - Two tickets for the State Apartments at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Centenary of the Inauguration of the Victoria Cross, 27.6.1956 - Ticket for the Corporation of London Reception at the Guildhall to mark the Centenary of the Institution of the Victoria Cross, 27.6.1956 - Programme for the Corporation of London Reception at the Guildhall to mark the Centenary of the Institution of the Victoria Cross, 27.6.1956 - Invitation named to A.H. Cross Esq., V.C. to a Tea Party and Cabaret at the Lyceum Theatre, London, 28.6.1956 - Programme for the Victoria Cross Centenary Celebrations Tea Party and Cabaret, Lyceum Theatre, 28.6.1956 - Invitation to Mr. A.H. Cross to London County Council´s Annual Reception, County Hall, 5.7.1956, with accompanying letters - Programme for the London County Council´s Annual Reception, County Hall, 5.7.1956 - Programme for the European Premiere of Walt Disney´s The Great Locomotive Chase, Studio One Theatre, London, 16.8.1956 - Invitation to A.H. Cross, Esq., V.C., M.M. to an Afternoon Tea Party given by H.M. The Queen and H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh, at Buckingham Palace, 17.7.1962 - Illuminated Certificate announcing that A.H. Cross, Esq., V.C., M.M. has been admitted as a Life Member of the British Legion, dated 17.11.1961 - Four V.C./ V.C. & G.C. Association Christmas Cards - The Recipient´s V.C. and G.C. Association Membership Card and M.G.C. Old Comrades´ Association Membership Card - Various autographs of V.C. Holders - Invitation named to Mr. A.H. Cross, V.C., M.M., for the unveiling ceremony of the Machine Gun Corps Memorial, 10.5.1925, together with a photograph of the Memorial - M.G.C. Old Comrades´ Association Annual Reunion Dinner menu, 10.11.1956 - Three letters to the recipient from Remus Films Ltd regarding the loan of his Victoria Cross for the making of Carrington, V.C., including one hand written and signed by David Niven, dated 28.6.1954 - A large quantity of newspaper cuttings, many featuring the recipient - Various photographs of the recipient, including two with Admiral of the Fleet Lord Mountbatten of Burma, K.G., G.C.B., O.M., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., and one with the actor David Niven outside the set of Carrington, V.C. - Ten prints of War-time oil sketches by Lieutenant-Colonel G.S. Hutchison, D.S.O., M.C., later Chairman of the M.G.C. Old Comrades´ Association, showing the Machine Gun Corps in action (lot) Estimate £ 110,000-130,000 V.C. London Gazette 4.6.1918 No. 62990 Pte. (A./L./Cpl.) Arthur Henry Cross, M.G. Corps (Camberwell) ´For most conspicuous bravery and initiative. L./Cpl. Cross volunteered to make a reconnaissance of the position of two machine guns which had been captured by the enemy. He advanced single-handed to the enemy trench and with his revolver forced seven of the enemy to surrender and carry the machine guns with their tripods and ammunition to our lines. He then handed over his prisoners, collected teams for his guns which he brought into action with exceptional dash and skill, annihilating a very heavy attack by the enemy. It is impossible to speak too highly of the extreme gallantry, initiative and dash displayed by this N.C.O., who showed throughout four days of operations supreme devotion to duty.´ M.M. London Gazette 29.8.1918 62990 Pte. (A./Cpl.) A. H. Cross, M.G. Corps (Camberwell). Corporal Arthur Henry Cross, V.C., M.M., was born in Shipdham, Norfolk, on the 13th December 1884, the son of a local Norfolk wheelwright and carpenter, and was educated at the local village school. His headmaster later described him as ´a quiet, unostentatious, thoughtful lad- little did we think in those days that he would ever perform such noble deeds.´ (Eastern Daily Press article, 17.9.1918 refers). After working for a while for the local butcher, he left home at the age of 18 and moved to Camberwell, South London, where he was employed on the Great Eastern Railway at the goods station at Bishopgate, and later at Woolwich Dockyard. Soon after he married Frances Coxhead, a local Camberwell girl. Following the outbreak of the Great War he enlisted in 1916 in the 21st Battalion, London Regiment (1st Surrey Rifles), and went to France with the Regiment at the end of 1916 before transferring the following year to the ´Suicide Club´- The Machine Gun Corps. Action at Ervillers The Great German Spring Offensive began on the 21st March, 1918, on which date Cross was serving with 121 Company, 40th Battalion, M.G.C. as part of 40th Division at Ervillers, approximately four miles north of Bapaume. That evening his Company was called up from the reserve to hold the rear trenches, as the 59th Division fell back against the heavy numerical superiority of the enemy, leaving most of their guns behind. The following day the 59th Division was withdrawn, and the 40th Division took over the forward positions. The enemy attack continued unabated, and during the 22nd March 102 Company, Machine Gun Corps lost 59 men out of 96. By the end of the day the Division, which had defended the position so long and so valiantly against overwhelming odds had fallen back, and had dug in on higher ground. The following day the Division rallied, and re-captured some of the previous day´s losses, including the village of Mory. As dawn broke on the 24th March in could be seen that the enemy had massed heavy forces in preparation for an attack on the village of Ervillers. Cross was with a machine-gun section near a line of infantry that had hastily come up from the reserve to help hold Ervillers, but was heavily outnumbered. By mid-afternoon the battle was at its hottest. The enemy were attacking, two of the four machine-gun teams were isolated and surrounded, and the others had fallen back. Cross decided to attack. Volunteering to go over the top in search of the captured guns, and armed only with a service revolver, he advanced slowly the following morning over No-man´s land. Moving carefully up to the Battalion´s former position, he saw the two guns in the hands of seven German soldiers. His objective was plain. Leaping forward, and pointing his revolver directly at the enemy, he forced their surrender and re-captured the guns. Ordering his prisoners to carry the machine-guns, together with their tripods and ammunition, back to his own retreated line, he then handed over his prisoners and collected teams for the guns, which he soon brought into action, destroying a very heavy German attack and arresting the enemy advance. For his ´conspicuous bravery and initiative´ in single-handedly re-capturing his Company´s guns he was awarded the Victoria Cross. A few weeks later in the same push he was further honoured with the award of the Military Medal, when he held a bridge against an enemy attack, a decoration which, according to his son Harry, he always felt was the harder earned: ´He always said it was harder to win his M.M. than his V.C.- but he was very proud of his V.C.´ (article in The Express refers). By late April the German advance had ground to a halt, the enemy having suffered heavy casualties and occupying ground which would prove impossible to hold with the fewer manpower reserves now available. In August 1918, the Allies began a counter-offensive, which resulted in the enemy being driven from all of the ground taken in their Spring Offensive, the collapse of the Hindenburg line, and the capitulation of the German Empire that November. Following his V.C. and M.M. winning exploits, Cross returned to England- six hours after his return from France his wife gave birth to a son, Victor, known as ´the Little V.C.´ Corporal Cross was presented with his Victoria Cross by H.M. King George V at Buckingham Palace on the 4th September 1918; he was later given a period of leave and returned to his home village of Shipdham, where a presentation was made in his honour. He was discharged from the Army in March 1919 with the rank of Corporal, and returned to Camberwell, where he was briefly employed by the Post Office before becoming a City messenger. Following the death of his first wife in the 1930s Cross married Minnie Harrison, and with his second wife he had a further two children. In the Second World War, too old for active service, he volunteered as a fire-watcher. One night during the Blitz tragedy struck- whilst on duty during an air raid his wife and their two children were killed when their shelter received a direct hit. Following the Second World War Cross lived on alone in Southwark, and continued his work as a City messenger for the firm Stewarts and Lloyd. Carrington, V.C. In 1954 production began at the Shepperton Studios on the film Carrington, V.C., starring David Niven in the title role. Stage tradition forbids the copying of the Victoria Cross, and Niven, as a former Lieutenant-Colonel in the Rifle Brigade, was eager to borrow a genuine V.C. to wear in the film, a story reported in the gossip pages of The Star. The following day Cross walked into The Star´s offices and, ´opening a battered suitcase, said "If David Niven would like to borrow this he can."´ (The Star, 9.6.1954 refers). "This" of course was Cross´s V.C., and the following day the film´s production manager wrote to Cross formally accepting the offer. On the 23rd June Cross was the guest of honour at Shepperton Studios, and met David Niven on the set of Carrington, V.C.: ´The cameras stopped and Major Carrington- smiling David Niven- stepped from the set to greet his visitor. "I´m proud to meet you," he said, and chatted with Mr. Cross about winning the V.C. which the old soldier adjusted on the star´s tunic. Film Director Anthony Asquith then found Mr. Cross a seat among the cameras and explained the apparent chaos as, amid the flashing of lights and shouts of "cut", the court martial scenes were shot.´ (The Star, 24.6.1954 refers). A week later Cross received a letter from David Niven: ´It was good meeting you the other day and thank you again for your great kindness in lending me your V.C.- I´ll take the greatest care of it.´ Following the completion of filming Cross was reunited with his V.C., and was invited to the film´s West End premiere. Family Re-union and Later Life Cross´s decision to loan his V.C. to the film Carrington, V.C. also had another happy, and totally unexpected, outcome- news of a long-lost sister. Seeing his name in The Weekly News, Cross´s sister Diana immediately wrote to him through the newspaper: ´Dear Brother Arthur, I was surprised to see your name in the paper last week. We thought you were killed with your wife and family when Jerry bombed London.´ (The Weekly News, 31.7.1954 refers). Cross was overjoyed: ´I don´t mind telling you I dropped a few tears reading that letter. To find you have a sister alive after all these years is a wonderful thing. But for the "Weekly News" I would have carried on thinking I was the last of the Cross family. Immediately after reading the letter I wrote back, telling her how pleased I was to hear from her and suggested we might meet at her home. I always remember her as a nice-looking, plump girl. I wonder how she looks now?´ (ibid). The following week Cross enjoyed ´the most wonderful family reunion of my life´ at his sister´s cottage in Norfolk. (The Star, 7.8.1954 refers). In 1956 Cross took part in the celebrations to mark the Centenary of the institution of the Victoria Cross, the highlight of which was the parade at Hyde Park when, exactly 99 years to the day since Queen Victoria had decorated the first 62 V.C. recipient´s whilst seated on here horse ´Sunset´, 297 living V.C. recipients paraded in front of H.M. The Queen. The following night he attended the Lord Mayor´s Guildhall reception, where the V.C. recipients and their guests emptied 700 bottles of champagne in the first 85 minutes. A regular attender of Old Comrades´ reunions all his life, and a founder member of the V.C. and G.C. Association, Corporal Cross died at home in Southwark on the 23rd November, 1965, and was buried alongside his second wife and their children at Streatham Vale Cemetery, London. A road in his old home village of Shipdham is named after him. Seven Victoria Crosses were awarded to the Machine Gun Corps; Corporal Cross´s V.C. is the only one accompanied by another British Gallantry Award.

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£185,000