Richard Raymond Willis

He led troops through wire and gunfire on Gallipoli beaches.

Richard Raymond Willis was born at Woking, Surrey, on 13 October 1876. Educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, he entered the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1897 and served in the Sudan campaign of 1898, including Khartoum.

On 25 April 1915 he landed at W Beach, Cape Helles, with the 1st Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers. Hidden machine guns and uncut wire caused devastating casualties. Willis helped lead the survivors through the obstacles, up the cliffs and onto the Turkish positions. His comrades selected him as one of the battalion's Victoria Cross recipients in the episode remembered as Six VCs Before Breakfast.

He subsequently served on the Western Front, including the Somme and Ypres, and became a major. After retiring in 1920 he worked in education, including the RAF Education Branch and private schools. During the Second World War he again volunteered for training duties. Later years brought ill health and financial difficulty, and he moved to a nursing home in Cheltenham. He died there on 9 February 1966.

Victoria Cross citation

On the 25th April, 1915, three Companies and the Headquarters of the 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, in effecting a landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula to the West of Cape Helles, were met by a very deadly fire from hidden machine guns which caused a great number of casualties. The survivors, however, rushed up to and cut the wire entanglements, notwithstanding the terrific fire from the enemy, and, after overcoming supreme difficulties, the cliffs were gained and the position maintained. Amongst the many very gallant Officers and men engaged in this most hazardous undertaking, Captain Willis, Serjeant Richards and Private Keneally have been selected by their comrades as having performed the most signal acts of bravery and devotion to duty.