William Cosgrove
Encyclopedia
William Cosgrove VC
MSM
([ October 1888 – 14 July 1936) born in Aghada
, County Cork
, 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.
, but later returned. In the meantime his wife moved with her children to a cottage in nearby Peafield, the children attended school at the National School, Ballinrostig. William began work at an early age as an apprentice butcher at Whitegate, and one of his daily chores was an early morning delivery to Fort Carlisle (now Fort Davis) with a consignment of meat for the troops. It was from Fort Carlisle that he joined the army.
on 24 March 1909 and was given the regimental number 8980. Life in the army for William up to 1914 would appear to have been very mundane, but the declaration of war in August, 1914 drastically changed all that. At the outbreak of war the 1st Battalion of the Munster’s was stationed in Rangoon, Burma, as regular battalions were regularly stationed overseas. They left Rangoon on the 21st of November, 1914 and with them came Corporal William Cosgrove and landed in England on January 10, 1915, still in their Indian issue uniforms and stood on the quays shivering in their khaki drill shorts. The battalion was then assigned to the 86th Brigade of the 29th Division (United Kingdom), in preparation for the landings at the Dardanelles
.
were on the converted collier ‘River Clyde’ when it ran ashore for the Cape Helles 'V’ beach landing on the 25 April 1915 at 06.20am. On departing from the ship's bay they were subject to the most ferocious enfilading machine gun fire from hidden Turkish defences. Some hundred of the Battalion’s finest men fell at this stage of the battle, those who managed to get ashore could not advance due to this withering Turkish fire. On the following day it was decided to destroy the wire entanglements facing the men that the naval bombardment had failed to do. It was during this attack that Cpl. Cosgrove 1st RMF, performed the action that was to earn him the regiment’s first Victoria Cross of the war. The action is best described by Cosgrove himself.
I then took charge, shouted to the boys to come on, from the village near at hand came terrible fire to swell the murderous hall of bullets from the trenches. Some of us got close to the wire and we started to cut it with a pliers, you might as well try and snip Cloyne round tower with a scissors.” He then grabbed hold of the stakes holding the barbed wire, "I dashed at the first one, heaved and strained and it came into my arms … I believe there was wild cheering when they saw what I was at, but I only heard the screech of bullets and saw dirt rising all round from where they hit. I could not tell you how many I pulled up. I did my best and the boys around me were every bit as good as myself."
He was also wounded during this action and was promoted to Sergeant and saw no further action due to his wound, which was a contributing factor in his early death later on.
He transferred to the Royal Fusiliers
in 1918 to the Leinster Regiment
in 1920, the Northumberland Fusiliers
in 1922 and later went as an Instructor to the Indian Territorial Force
in 1928 to become 7042223 Staff Sgt Instructor. He came home in 1935 pending discharge to pension, unfortunately his plans were all to go wrong. He was admitted to Millbank hospital, but took discharge before he was fit. After a short leave in Cork, he returned to London, where he was admitted to Middlesex hospital. He was later transferred to Millbank
hospital London, where he died on 21 July 1936:
On the 16 June 1940, the O.C.A., of the Royal Munster Fusiliers unveiled a memorial over the grave.
He was 26 years old, and a corporal
in the 1st Battalion of the The Royal Munster Fusiliers (RMF), 29th Division (United Kingdom) during the First World War
when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the battalion's first VC.
On 26 April 1915, the second day of the disastrous V beach landing at Cape Helles
, during the Battle of Gallipoli
, Turkey
, when just three companies of Munsters had made it to the shelter of some dunes, at daybreak they charged to take the village behind the Sedd el Bahr
fort overlooking the bay. Corporal Cosgrove led a company section during the attack on the Turkish
positions. Barbed wire held them up and Corporal Cosgrove, described by his command as "an Irish Giant" set himself the task of pulling the stanchion posts of the enemy's high wire entanglement single-handed out of the ground, notwithstanding the terrific fire from both front and flanks with officers and men falling all around him. Thanks to his exceptional bravery, his heroic actions contributed greatly to the successful clearing of the heights. Turkish counter-attacks were held off.
He later achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant
.
He died at Millbrook, London 14 July 1936.
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....
MSM
Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom)
The Meritorious Service Medal is a silver medal for distinguished service, or for gallantry, principally by non-commissioned officers of all of the British armed forces and of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service.-Summary:...
([ October 1888 – 14 July 1936) born in Aghada
Aghada
Aghada is a small fishing town situated on the south-east coast of Cork in County Cork, Ireland. Aghada is most famous for the Aghada GAA and its neighbouring villages are Whitegate and Rostellan...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
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 and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
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 Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces.
Background
William Cosgrove was born at Aghada, Co Cork on 1 October 1888, the son of Michael and Mary Cosgrove. He had four brothers, Dan, Ned, David, Joseph and a sister Mary-Catherine. While they were still young their father emigrated to AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, but later returned. In the meantime his wife moved with her children to a cottage in nearby Peafield, the children attended school at the National School, Ballinrostig. William began work at an early age as an apprentice butcher at Whitegate, and one of his daily chores was an early morning delivery to Fort Carlisle (now Fort Davis) with a consignment of meat for the troops. It was from Fort Carlisle that he joined the army.
Army and WWI
He enlisted in the Royal Munster FusiliersRoyal Munster Fusiliers
The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army. One of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, it had its home depot in Tralee. It was originally formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of two regiments of the former East India Company. It served in India and...
on 24 March 1909 and was given the regimental number 8980. Life in the army for William up to 1914 would appear to have been very mundane, but the declaration of war in August, 1914 drastically changed all that. At the outbreak of war the 1st Battalion of the Munster’s was stationed in Rangoon, Burma, as regular battalions were regularly stationed overseas. They left Rangoon on the 21st of November, 1914 and with them came Corporal William Cosgrove and landed in England on January 10, 1915, still in their Indian issue uniforms and stood on the quays shivering in their khaki drill shorts. The battalion was then assigned to the 86th Brigade of the 29th Division (United Kingdom), in preparation for the landings at the Dardanelles
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
.
Gallipoli
The 1st Munsters together with the 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Hampshire RegimentRoyal Hampshire Regiment
The Royal Hampshire Regiment was a British Army line infantry regiment from 1881 to 1992. Its lineage is continued today by the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.-Formation and antecedents:...
were on the converted collier ‘River Clyde’ when it ran ashore for the Cape Helles 'V’ beach landing on the 25 April 1915 at 06.20am. On departing from the ship's bay they were subject to the most ferocious enfilading machine gun fire from hidden Turkish defences. Some hundred of the Battalion’s finest men fell at this stage of the battle, those who managed to get ashore could not advance due to this withering Turkish fire. On the following day it was decided to destroy the wire entanglements facing the men that the naval bombardment had failed to do. It was during this attack that Cpl. Cosgrove 1st RMF, performed the action that was to earn him the regiment’s first Victoria Cross of the war. The action is best described by Cosgrove himself.
Heroic action
"Our job was to dash ahead, face the trenches, bristling with rifle and machine guns and destroy the wire entanglements. Fifty men were entailed for the work, poor Sergeant-Major Bennett led us, but was killed, a bullet through the brain.I then took charge, shouted to the boys to come on, from the village near at hand came terrible fire to swell the murderous hall of bullets from the trenches. Some of us got close to the wire and we started to cut it with a pliers, you might as well try and snip Cloyne round tower with a scissors.” He then grabbed hold of the stakes holding the barbed wire, "I dashed at the first one, heaved and strained and it came into my arms … I believe there was wild cheering when they saw what I was at, but I only heard the screech of bullets and saw dirt rising all round from where they hit. I could not tell you how many I pulled up. I did my best and the boys around me were every bit as good as myself."
He was also wounded during this action and was promoted to Sergeant and saw no further action due to his wound, which was a contributing factor in his early death later on.
VC award
The award of the V.C. was gazetted on 23 August 1915, it stated that it was awarded “For most conspicuous bravery leading this section with great dash during our attack from the beach to the east of Cape Helles on the Turkish positions on 26 April 1915. Cpl Cosgrove on this occasion pulled down the posts of the enemy’s high wire entanglements single-handed, notwithstanding a terrible fire from both front and flank, thereby greatly contributing to the successful clearing of the heights.” He was described by Surgeon P.Burrowes-Kelly, RN.,D.S.O.,as an "Irish giant" and by a person from Aghada who remembered him “As a very shy man who hated to be fussed over.”He transferred to the Royal Fusiliers
Royal Irish Fusiliers
The Royal Irish Fusiliers was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th Regiment of Foot and the 89th Regiment of Foot in 1881. The regiment's first title in 1881 was Princess Victoria's , changed in 1920 to The Royal Irish Fusiliers...
in 1918 to the Leinster Regiment
Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment
The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot...
in 1920, the Northumberland Fusiliers
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers
The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Originally raised in 1674, the regiment was amalgamated with three other fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.-Origins:...
in 1922 and later went as an Instructor to the Indian Territorial Force
Indian Territorial Force
The Indian Territorial Force was a part-time, paid volunteer organisation within the Indian Army in British India. Its units were primarily made up of European officers and Indian other ranks....
in 1928 to become 7042223 Staff Sgt Instructor. He came home in 1935 pending discharge to pension, unfortunately his plans were all to go wrong. He was admitted to Millbank hospital, but took discharge before he was fit. After a short leave in Cork, he returned to London, where he was admitted to Middlesex hospital. He was later transferred to Millbank
Millbank
Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster...
hospital London, where he died on 21 July 1936:
Final salute
- His body was conveyed from London to FishguardFishguardFishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....
by road en route to Upper Agahada, County Cork in Ireland for interment there, in his native place. About five hundred members of the O.C.A. of the R.M.F. Association met the vessel at PenrosePenrose-Places:* Penrose, Arlington, Virginia, a neighborhood in the United States* Penrose, Colorado, a town in the United States* Penrose, Padstow, a small village in north Cornwall, England, with a World War II base near it...
Quay and formed a guard of honour as the coffin was taken from the boat to the waiting hearse. The grand salute was also sounded, the guard of honour standing to attention bare-headed. The courtege subsequently left Penrose Quay and proceeded by road to Aghada. Capt. D. D. SheehanD. D. SheehanDaniel Desmond Sheehan, usually known as D. D. Sheehan was an Irish nationalist, politician, labour leader, journalist, barrister and author...
R.M.F. was in charge of the Comrades.
- When the remains reached Upper Aghada, the coffin was removed from the hearse and members of the O. C. Association from Cork and his native place shouldered the coffin to the family burial ground at Upper Aghada. A striking and impressive spectacle was the sounding of the Last PostLast PostThe "Last Post" can be either a B♭ bugle call within British Infantry regiments or an E♭ cavalry trumpet call in British Cavalry and Royal Regiment of Artillery used at Commonwealth military funerals and ceremonies commemorating those who have been killed in war.The two regimental traditions have...
, while the other ex-army men stood to attention. It was stated that it is an unusual spectacle in these days, and many people were visibly moved. When the interment had taken place a beautiful wreath was laid on the grave on behalf of the Association, and this simple ceremony closed the chapter in the life of a great Irish soldier, "An Irish giant … a shy man who hated to be fussed over".
On the 16 June 1940, the O.C.A., of the Royal Munster Fusiliers unveiled a memorial over the grave.
Valued medals
In 1972, Cosgrove’s V.C., was sold for a record price £2,300 to a private collector. When questioned about the high price which the medal fetched, the auctioneer replied "When one buys a gallantry medal, it is not just the medal one buys, but the act that won it. William Cosgrove’s Victoria Cross together with his other medals was sold at an auction by Dix Noonan Webb held on 22 September 2006 for The world's most valuable auction of orders, decorations and medals. A total of £1,965,010 was spent by 305 different buyers, a figure which represents "the highest amount ever realised by any numismatic auction in the UK". The day's highest price, £180,000, was paid by a collector for the Gallipoli landings Victoria Cross group of six, which included the medal awarded to Sgt. William Cosgrove, Royal Munster Fusiliers.Official record
The official record of his VC reads:He was 26 years old, and a corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
in the 1st Battalion of the The Royal Munster Fusiliers (RMF), 29th Division (United Kingdom) 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 battalion's first VC.
On 26 April 1915, the second day of the disastrous V beach landing at Cape Helles
Landing at Cape Helles
The landing at Cape Helles was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula by British and French forces on April 25, 1915 during the First World War. Helles, at the foot of the peninsula, was the main landing area. With the support of the guns of the Royal Navy, a British division...
, during the Battle of Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, when just three companies of Munsters had made it to the shelter of some dunes, at daybreak they charged to take the village behind the Sedd el Bahr
Sedd el Bahr
Sedd el Bahr is a village at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The village lies east of the cape, on the shore of the Dardanelles...
fort overlooking the bay. Corporal Cosgrove led a company section during the attack on the Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
positions. Barbed wire held them up and Corporal Cosgrove, described by his command as "an Irish Giant" set himself the task of pulling the stanchion posts of the enemy's high wire entanglement single-handed out of the ground, notwithstanding the terrific fire from both front and flanks with officers and men falling all around him. Thanks to his exceptional bravery, his heroic actions contributed greatly to the successful clearing of the heights. Turkish counter-attacks were held off.
He later achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
.
He died at Millbrook, London 14 July 1936.