James Anson Otho Brooke

He led two counterattacks and restored a broken firing line.

James Anson Otho Brooke was born near Aberdeen on 3 February 1884 into a military family. Educated at Wellington College and Sandhurst, where he won the Sword of Honour, he entered the Gordon Highlanders in October 1905. He served in Ireland and India, taking part in the Delhi Durbar of 1911, before his battalion moved to Egypt. His promotion to captain was dated September 1914.

He went to Belgium with the 2nd Battalion during the opening months of the First World War. On 29 October 1914, near Gheluvelt, German attacks were putting the British position under severe pressure. Brooke led two counterattacks against the advancing enemy. His example helped restore the situation and prevented a local collapse from developing into a more serious break in the line.

When the battalion was subsequently ordered to withdraw, he went back to pass on the instructions and make certain that the men could disengage. He was killed during the fighting. His Victoria Cross recognised both the initiative of the counterattacks and the leadership he displayed in a rapidly changing battle.

The award was posthumous. King George V presented the decoration to Brooke's father at Buckingham Palace on 29 November 1916. Two of Brooke's brothers also died during the war, Henry Brian from wounds in 1916 and Patrick from illness in 1917.

Brooke was buried in Zantvoorde British Cemetery in Belgium. His Victoria Cross and campaign medals entered the Gordon Highlanders collection in Aberdeen, where his sword and revolver also preserve the connection between his peacetime career and his final action.