Cecil Noble

He cut a path through enemy wire under intense machine guns.

On 12 March 1915, the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade was advancing near Neuve Chapelle when dense German wire and heavy machine-gun fire stopped the attack. Acting Corporal Cecil Reginald Noble and Company Sergeant-Major Harry Daniels volunteered to go forward. They crossed into the fire-swept ground and cut a passage through the wire, opening a route for their battalion to continue its advance. Both men were wounded in the attempt. Noble’s wounds proved fatal the following day; Daniels survived and also received the Victoria Cross.

Noble was born in Bournemouth on 4 June 1891. He enlisted in the Rifle Brigade in 1910 and served in India before his battalion returned to Britain in October 1914. He landed in France on 7 November 1914 and served with the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front. The Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously. He was buried at Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery near Saint-Omer, France.

### Victoria Cross citation

“For most conspicuous bravery on 12th March, 1915, at Neuve Chapelle. When their battalion was impeded in the advance to the attack by wire entanglements, and subjected to a very severe machine-gun fire, these two men voluntarily rushed in front and succeeded in cutting the wires. They were both wounded at once, and Corporal Noble has since died of his wounds.”