Charles William Train

Silencing two machine guns to open the advance on Jerusalem.

Charles William Train was born on September 21, 1890, at 58 Chatterton Road in Finsbury Park, north London. Educated at Gillespie Road London County Council School, he worked as a solicitor’s clerk at Gray’s Inn. He joined the London Scottish in 1909, aged 18, and served with the Territorial Force. After the outbreak of the First World War, he went to France in September 1914 and saw action the following month. He served at Salonika before moving to Egypt and Palestine in 1917. By September that year he was a corporal in the 2/14th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (London Scottish).

On December 8, 1917, during the British advance on Jerusalem, Train’s company came under sudden close-range fire from two Ottoman machine guns near Ein Kerem, southwest of the city. The guns halted the advance. Acting on his own initiative under heavy fire, Train rushed forward with rifle grenades and put part of one gun’s team out of action with a direct hit. He wounded the party’s officer and used bombs and rifle fire against the remaining men. Then, while a comrade attacked from the front, Train shot an enemy soldier who was carrying the second machine gun away. The action helped the battalion continue toward its objective at a moment when its advance had stalled.

Train was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery and initiative. King George V presented the decoration at Second Army Headquarters in Blendecques, northern France, on August 6, 1918. Promoted sergeant in 1918, he was demobilised in February 1919. After the war he settled in Canada and made his career in shipping. He died in Vancouver on March 28, 1965 and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the London Scottish Regimental Museum.

**Victoria Cross citation**

“For most conspicuous bravery, dash and initiative displayed under heavy fire when his company was unexpectedly engaged at close range by a party of the enemy with two machine guns and brought to a standstill. Corporal Train, on his own initiative, rushed forward and engaged the enemy with rifle grenades, and succeeded in putting some of the team out of action with a direct hit. He then shot at and wounded an officer in command, and with bomb and rifle killed and wounded the remainder of the team. After this he went to the assistance of a comrade who was bombing the enemy from their front and shot at and killed one of the enemy who was carrying the second gun out of action. His courage and devotion to duty undoubtedly saved his battalion heavy casualties and enabled them to advance to their objective at a time when the situation seemed critical.”