Richard Annesley West

In the final weeks of his life, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Annesley West repeatedly rode into enemy fire when other men were seeking cover. Between 8 August and 2 September 1918, the British cavalry officer turned tank commander performed the actions that brought him the Military Cross, a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order, and ultimately the Victoria Cross. On his final day, with a British infantry battalion in danger of giving way under a German counter-attack, West rode in front of the line through intense machine-gun and rifle fire, rallied the men, reorganised their leadership and called on them to keep fighting. He was killed where he rode. His courage helped stop the German attack and made Richard Annesley West VC, DSO and Bar, MC one of the most highly decorated British Army officers of the First World War.

Richard Annesley West was born at 1 Oxford Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 26 September 1878. He was the sixth child of Augustus George West, a former officer of the 76th Regiment of Foot, and Sara West, née Eyre, whose family connections were with Whitepark in County Fermanagh. West was educated at Monkton Combe School in Somerset and Uckfield Agricultural College in Sussex before travelling to South Africa, where his first experience of active service came during the Second Boer War.

On 8 January 1900, West enlisted at Newbridge as Trooper 9697 in the 45th (Dublin) Company, 13th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, also known as the Irish Hunt Squadron. He served in Cape Colony, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal and was briefly taken prisoner during the campaign. After being discharged from the Imperial Yeomanry at Shorncliffe on 3 April 1901, he returned to South Africa. In November 1901 he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, Kitchener's Fighting Scouts. Following the war he remained in South Africa, working with the Transvaal Repatriation Department and later serving as a lieutenant and assistant adjutant in the Transvaal Horse Artillery Volunteers. He married Maude Ethel Cushing in Pretoria on 16 July 1909.

When the First World War began, West sought a commission in the North Irish Horse. Rather than risk missing the regiment's departure while waiting for War Office confirmation, he enlisted as a private, service number 1015, on 20 August 1914 and sailed for France with C Squadron. His commission as lieutenant was subsequently confirmed and backdated to 11 August 1914. He served during the opening campaigns on the Western Front, including the Retreat from Mons, and was mentioned in Sir John French's first despatch of the war. West would eventually be Mentioned in Despatches three times during the First World War.

In June 1915 West was attached to the 1/1st North Somerset Yeomanry, and he was promoted to captain that November. His first major decoration of the war came from his conduct during the Battle of Arras. On 11 April 1917 at Monchy-le-Preux, his squadron was ordered forward to reinforce the brigade's exposed right flank under severe shell and machine-gun fire. West rapidly assessed the danger, positioned his squadron and helped prevent an impending German counter-attack. The official citation praised his "excellent example, rapid grasp of the situation and skilful disposition of his squadron" and noted the ability he had shown in command since July 1915. He was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in The London Gazette of 1 January 1918.

By late 1917 West had been attached to the Tank Corps, which had been created earlier that year from the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps. He became an acting major on 18 January 1918 and was given command responsibilities with the light tanks of the 6th Battalion, Tank Corps. The change of arm did little to change West's personal style of command. Even in a formation built around armoured vehicles, he frequently operated mounted on horseback so that he could move rapidly across the battlefield and direct his tanks personally.

During the great Allied offensive at Amiens on 8 August 1918, West commanded a company of light tanks near Guillaucourt. His Military Cross citation recorded his "magnificent leadership and personal bravery". Moving forward to identify targets for his tanks, he had two horses shot from under him. West and his orderly killed five enemy soldiers and captured seven more. On 10 August he again went forward, personally reconnoitring the ground near Le Quesnoy and later rallying the crews of disabled tanks under heavy machine-gun fire before withdrawing them after darkness fell. These actions earned him the Military Cross, announced in The London Gazette on 7 November 1918.

Only thirteen days after Amiens, West again distinguished himself during the fighting around Courcelles-le-Comte on 21 August 1918. Thick mist had made direction and coordination extremely difficult. West accompanied the attack on horseback to keep his light tanks moving towards their objectives. When his horse was shot, he continued on foot. He not only directed his tanks but gathered infantrymen who had become lost in the fog and led them forward. With his commanding officer killed early in the action, West effectively commanded the battalion for much of the battle. His citation described his leadership and "total disregard of personal safety" and concluded that his consistent gallantry since 8 August had been remarkable. For this action he received a Bar to his Distinguished Service Order, also announced in The London Gazette on 7 November 1918.

The same fighting on 21 August formed the first part of the citation for an even greater distinction. Infantry advancing through dense fog had lost their direction, and West collected and reorganised the scattered men before leading them towards their objective under heavy machine-gun fire. His initiative was credited with contributing substantially to the capture of the position. The Victoria Cross citation would later pair that action with the events of 2 September 1918.

West had been promoted acting lieutenant colonel on 22 August and was commanding the 6th Battalion, Tank Corps when he entered his final battle. On 2 September 1918, during operations around Vaulx-Vraucourt and Lagnicourt, he went forward to maintain contact with the attacking troops. At the front line he found an infantry battalion under a severe German counter-attack. Many of its officers had become casualties and its flanks were dangerously exposed. West immediately recognised that if the battalion broke, the position could collapse.

He rode out in front of the infantry under extremely heavy machine-gun and rifle fire. With German troops close by, West took control, selected non-commissioned officers to replace fallen officers and continued riding along the front of the line to steady the men. His words were preserved in his Victoria Cross citation: "Stick it, men; show them fight; and for God's sake put up a good fight." Moments later he was struck repeatedly by machine-gun fire and killed. The men held their ground. The official citation recorded that West's bravery at the critical moment inspired the infantry to redouble their efforts and the German counter-attack was defeated.

Richard Annesley West was 39 years old when he died on 2 September 1918. He was buried in Mory Abbey Military Cemetery, Mory, France, in Plot III, Row G, Grave 4. His Victoria Cross was announced posthumously in the Second Supplement to The London Gazette of 29 October 1918, published on 30 October 1918, issue 30982, page 12801. The citation recognised his actions at Courcelles on 21 August and near Vaulx-Vraucourt on 2 September and opened with the words "For most conspicuous bravery, leadership and self-sacrifice." His Victoria Cross and the Bar to his DSO were presented to his widow by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 15 February 1919.

West's military career had begun as an ordinary Imperial Yeomanry trooper in South Africa and ended with him commanding a battalion of the Tank Corps on the Western Front. Across two wars he had served as a cavalryman, irregular soldier, yeomanry officer and tank commander. His gallantry record included the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order and Bar, Military Cross and three Mentions in Despatches. Yet the most enduring image of Richard Annesley West is not of a medal ceremony or formal portrait. It is of a mounted officer riding deliberately into the open in front of wavering infantry, placing himself where every man could see him, and refusing to leave while the line was in danger of breaking.