David Nelson

Wounded he fired his gun until its ammunition was exhausted.

David Nelson VC helped keep a single British field gun firing during the action at Nery on 1 September 1914. A sergeant in L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, he remained at his post despite serious wounds as German artillery threatened to destroy the battery.

Born in County Monaghan, Ireland, Nelson enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery in 1904. He transferred to L Battery and developed his skills as a signaller and gunner. A course at Shoeburyness brought a first-class gunnery certificate. Promoted sergeant at the outbreak of war, he crossed to France with the original British Expeditionary Force in August 1914.

At Nery, the battery came under sudden, intense fire. Nelson worked alongside Captain Edward Bradbury and Battery Sergeant-Major George Dorrell to bring a gun into action and maintain its fire. Although wounded and ordered to take cover, he continued until the ammunition ran out. All three received the Victoria Cross.

Nelson survived evacuation and recovery, received his VC from King George V in January 1915 and became a gunnery instructor at Shoeburyness. He married Ada Bishop and had a son. Commissioned from the ranks, he returned to France in December 1917 and became an acting major commanding D Battery, 59th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. Shellfire inflicted multiple wounds on 7 April 1918. He died the following day at Lillers and is buried there. His career had carried him from enlisted gunner to battery commander.

Official Victoria Cross citation

Helping to bring the guns into action under heavy fire at Nery on 1st September, and while severely wounded remaining with them until all the ammunition was expended – although he had been ordered to retire to cover.

Third Supplement to The London Gazette of 13 November 1914. 16 November 1914, Numb. 28976, p. 9374. Repeated in The London Gazette of 17 November 1914, Numb. 28977, p. 9403