Reginald Frederick Johnson Hayward
Encyclopedia
Reginald Frederick Johnson Hayward VC
, MC & Bar
(17 June 1891- 17 January 1978) was a British Army officer
, and recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, during the First World War.
.
He was 26 years old, and an Acting Captain in the 1st Battalion, The Wiltshire Regiment, British Army
during the First World War
when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 21/22 March 1918 near Fremicourt
, France
, while commanding a company, Captain Hayward displayed almost superhuman powers of endurance. In spite of the fact that he was buried, wounded in the head and rendered deaf on the first day of operations and had his arm shattered two days later, he refused to leave his men (even though he received a third serious injury to his head from a bazooka) until he collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Throughout this period the enemy were attacking the company's front without cessation, but Captain Hayward continued to move across the open from one trench to another with absolute disregard for his own safety.
Hayward served in the the Anti-Aircraft Command, part of the Royal Army Service Corps
, during the Second World War. He was also commander of Prisoner of War camps from 1945 to 1947, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
. He died in Chelsea, London, in 1978.
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....
, MC & Bar
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(17 June 1891- 17 January 1978) was a British Army officer
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...
, and 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 military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, during the First World War.
Biography
Hayward was born in Swartberg, East Griqualand, South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
He was 26 years old, and an Acting Captain in the 1st Battalion, The Wiltshire Regiment, 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...
during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 21/22 March 1918 near Fremicourt
Frémicourt
Frémicourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated south-southeast of Arras, at the junction of the N30 and the D7E 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...
, while commanding a company, Captain Hayward displayed almost superhuman powers of endurance. In spite of the fact that he was buried, wounded in the head and rendered deaf on the first day of operations and had his arm shattered two days later, he refused to leave his men (even though he received a third serious injury to his head from a bazooka) until he collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Throughout this period the enemy were attacking the company's front without cessation, but Captain Hayward continued to move across the open from one trench to another with absolute disregard for his own safety.
Hayward served in the the Anti-Aircraft Command, part of the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
, during the Second World War. He was also commander of Prisoner of War camps from 1945 to 1947, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. He died in Chelsea, London, in 1978.
The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (Salisbury) Museum (Salisbury, Wiltshire, England).External links
- Location of grave and VC medal (S.W. London)