Alfred Oliver Pollard

Few soldiers of the First World War rose from private soldier to Victoria Cross recipient with the speed, ferocity, and repeated distinction of Alfred Oliver Pollard. A pre-war insurance clerk who enlisted within days of Britain's entry into the conflict, Pollard became one of the most highly decorated soldiers of the Honourable Artillery Company, earning the Victoria Cross, Military Cross and Bar, and Distinguished Conduct Medal in a remarkable sequence of front-line actions.

Alfred Oliver Pollard was born at Wallington, Surrey, on 4 May 1893, the son of James Alfred Pollard, an insurance executive, and Ada Jane Pollard, née Payne. Educated at St Olave's Grammar School and Merchant Taylors' School, he later worked as an insurance clerk with the Alliance Assurance Company. Four days after Britain declared war on Germany, Pollard enlisted in the Honourable Artillery Company on 8 August 1914. He went to France with the 1st Battalion in September and entered the trenches near Kemmel before the end of the year.

Pollard quickly proved suited to the violent conditions of trench warfare. Rising through the ranks to corporal and then sergeant, he became closely associated with bombing and grenade fighting. On 30 September 1915, during fighting at Sanctuary Wood near Hooge, his bombing party was committed against a German position after a mine explosion. Pollard was knocked unconscious by an enemy bomb but recovered and continued directing the attack. He was later shot through the shoulder, yet continued attempting to control the fight until his injuries finally forced him out of action.

For his conduct at Sanctuary Wood, Pollard received the Distinguished Conduct Medal . His official citation recorded that, although severely wounded, he continued throwing bombs while giving orders and encouraging his men, and that his example restored confidence among the bombers at a critical moment. The citation concluded that he did not cease until he fell severely wounded for a second time. The award was published in *The Edinburgh Gazette*, No. 12873, on 17 November 1915, page 1754.

After recovering from his wounds, Sergeant Pollard was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Honourable Artillery Company with effect from 19 January 1916. Returning to France, he served as a bombing officer, but an infected injury caused by barbed wire again removed him temporarily from front-line service. By early 1917 he was back with his battalion and about to begin an extraordinary series of gallantry awards.

During operations around Grandcourt on 7 and 8 February 1917, Pollard led a patrol on a dangerous reconnaissance of enemy positions. Later, when the officers of a company became casualties, he assumed command and successfully resisted two strong German counter-attacks. For this action he received the Military Cross . His official citation stated:

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led a patrol and carried out a dangerous reconnaissance."

It continued by recording that he later assumed command of a company and repulsed two strong enemy counter-attacks. The award was published in the *Supplement to The London Gazette*, No. 30001, on 26 March 1917, page 2985.

Only weeks later Pollard distinguished himself again during the Battle of Arras. Near Gavrelle in April 1917, he carried out a hazardous reconnaissance of the German front line under intense fire and returned with important information. During the patrol, one of his men failed to return, and Pollard went back into the danger area in an effort to recover him.

This action brought Pollard a Bar to his Military Cross , representing a second award of the decoration. The official citation stated that he had "carried out a dangerous reconnaissance of the enemy's front line under very heavy fire" and obtained valuable information, adding that he had set "a splendid example of courage and determination." The citation appeared in the *Supplement to The London Gazette*, No. 30135, on 18 June 1917, page 5983.

Yet Pollard's most famous action was still to come.

On 29 April 1917 at Gavrelle, heavy German shelling and a powerful counter-attack caused troops on the left of the Honourable Artillery Company's position to become disorganised and begin falling back. Pollard immediately recognized that the retirement threatened the entire defensive position. Instead of withdrawing with the confusion around him, he moved forward to stop it.

With only four men, Pollard launched a bombing counter-attack against the advancing Germans. The small party drove forward with grenades, broke the enemy attack, recovered the ground that had been lost, and gained additional ground beyond it. His intervention helped transform a dangerous withdrawal into a successful counter-attack.

For this action Second Lieutenant Alfred Oliver Pollard was awarded the Victoria Cross .

His official citation opened with the words, "For most conspicuous bravery and determination." It described how Pollard "dashed up to stop the retirement" and, with only four men, attacked until the enemy advance had been broken. The citation concluded that his force of will, dash, personal example, and disregard for danger "infused courage into every man who saw him." The Victoria Cross was announced in the *Second Supplement to The London Gazette*, No. 30122, on 8 June 1917, pages 5703 to 5704.

Pollard's award was particularly notable because the Victoria Cross citation itself acknowledged that he had already earned the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Cross. His record of repeated gallantry made him one of the outstanding fighting soldiers of the Honourable Artillery Company during the First World War.

King George V presented Pollard with his Victoria Cross, Military Cross and Bar, and Distinguished Conduct Medal at Buckingham Palace on 21 July 1917. He later served as an acting captain, trained American troops arriving for service in France, held an adjutant appointment, and after the Armistice served with the British occupation forces in Germany before being demobilised in February 1919.

Pollard remained connected with military service after the war. He entered the Territorial Army Reserve as a captain and in 1924 received a short-service commission in the Royal Air Force. He was promoted to Flying Officer before relinquishing his RAF commission in December 1926.

Civilian life eventually gave Pollard a second career that was almost as distinctive as his military one. Writing professionally as Captain A. O. Pollard, he became a prolific author of mystery, crime, adventure, and espionage fiction, producing around sixty published works. In 1932 he published his wartime autobiography, *Fire-Eater: The Memoirs of a VC*, an unusually vivid account of his experiences in the trenches and of the aggressive bombing warfare in which he had played such a prominent role.

Alfred Oliver Pollard died at his home in Bournemouth on 4 December 1960, aged 67. He was cremated at Bournemouth Crematorium and his ashes were scattered in the Garden of Remembrance.

In 1961 his medals and service sword were presented to the Honourable Artillery Company. His Victoria Cross and medal group remain associated with the HAC Museum at Armoury House in London, preserving the story of a soldier who began the First World War as a private and emerged from it as Alfred Oliver Pollard VC, MC and Bar, DCM, one of the Honourable Artillery Company's most distinguished fighting officers.