Albert Hill (VC)

Private Albert Hill, VC (24 May 1895 – 17 February 1971) was an English infantryman of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He received the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Battle of the Somme in the First World War.

Hill was born in Hulme, Manchester, Lancashire, one of ten children of Thomas Hill, a coal miner, and Elizabeth Hill. The family lived in Denton, Greater Manchester, where Hill attended Trinity Wesleyan School. He later worked as a machine hand at Alpha Cotton Mill. He then trained as a hat planker with Joseph Wilson & Sons Ltd on Wilton Street.

Hill enlisted in the British Army at Denton on 3 August 1914. His brother Joseph enlisted with him. Hill joined C Company, 10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, under service number 15280. The battalion formed part of the 76th Infantry Brigade in the 3rd Division.

After completing his military training, Hill sailed from Dover aboard SS Onward on 27 September 1915. He arrived in France and joined the fighting on the Western Front. His battalion entered the trenches in the Hooge sector near Ypres in October 1915. The unit spent several months in trench warfare before moving south to the Somme sector in July 1916.

Hill's brother Joseph was later killed during the Somme offensive. His name appears on the Thiepval Memorial.

On 20 July 1916, Hill took part in the fighting at Delville Wood. His actions during the battle led to his recommendation for the Victoria Cross. The citation appeared in the Supplement to the London Gazette on 26 September 1916:

"For most conspicuous bravery. When his battalion had deployed under very heavy fire for an attack on the enemy in a wood, he dashed forward, when the order to charge was given, and, meeting two of the enemy suddenly, bayonetted them both. He was sent later by his platoon serjeant to get into touch with the company, and, finding himself cut off and almost surrounded by some twenty of the enemy, attacked them with bombs, killing and wounding many and scattering the remainder. He then joined a serjeant of his company and helped him to fight the way back to the lines. When he got back, hearing that his Company Officer and a scout were lying out wounded, he went out and assisted to bring in the wounded officer, two other men bringing in the scout. Finally, he himself captured and brought in as prisoners two of the enemy. His conduct throughout was magnificent."

Brigadier General R. J. Kentish presented Hill with his Victoria Cross ribbon on 30 September 1916 at Enquin-les-Mines, France. Corporal Joseph John Davies, another member of the battalion, received his ribbon at the same ceremony. King George V presented Hill with the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace on 18 November 1916.

Hill also received foreign decorations for his wartime service. France awarded him the Croix de Guerre with Bronze Palm on 9 December 1916. He also received the Imperial Russian Cross of St. George.

Later in the war, Hill served as an orderly to Lieutenant William Murrell Lummis. Lummis later became a military historian and studied the service records of Victoria Cross recipients.

Hill left the army on 16 February 1919 and returned to Denton. He went back to work at the Wilson hat factory. On 14 February 1920, he married Doris May Wilson at St. George's Church in Hyde.

Hill and his wife moved to the United States on 12 May 1923. They traveled aboard RMS Scythia, arriving in Boston before settling in Central Falls, Rhode Island. They moved to Pawtucket in 1933. Hill worked as a bricklayer's laborer for the H. M. Soule Construction Company.

After the United States entered the Second World War, Hill tried to enlist in the US military at the age of 46. Officials instead directed him toward industrial defense work. He worked at the H&B Machine Company in Pawtucket. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1944.

In June 1953, Hill returned to London for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He attended as part of the Victoria Cross party and also visited Denton during the trip.

Hill died at Pawtucket Memorial Hospital on 17 February 1971, aged 75. He received a military funeral and was buried at Highland Memorial Park in Johnston, Rhode Island.

His family later donated his complete medal group to the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum at Caernarfon Castle in Wales.