Stanley Henry Parry Boughey

With enemy soldiers closing to within 30 yards of his position, Second Lieutenant Stanley Henry Parry Boughey charged forward alone with grenades, turning a desperate defence into an extraordinary act of courage.

Born on 9 April 1896 in Liverpool, England, Boughey grew up in Blackpool, where he became an enthusiastic Scout and later worked as a solicitor's clerk. His involvement with St John Ambulance and the Red Cross prepared him for medical support work during the First World War. From October 1914, he reportedly served at Boulogne in France with the British Red Cross, undertaking duties associated with military medical services. Illness forced his return to Britain in 1915.

Determined to serve again, Boughey joined the Ayrshire Yeomanry in 1916 and was subsequently commissioned into the Royal Scots Fusiliers on 28 March 1917. He arrived in Egypt that July and joined the 1/4th Battalion before serving in Palestine.

On 1 December 1917, during the fighting at El Burj, Ottoman troops advanced close to the British positions, using grenades and automatic rifles to suppress British machine-gun fire. Boughey rushed forward alone, attacking the enemy with grenades and causing a party of 30 soldiers to surrender. As he turned to obtain more grenades, he was mortally wounded.

He died on 4 December 1917, aged just 21.

For his exceptional bravery, Boughey was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. His citation appeared in the Supplement to The London Gazette on 12 February 1918, issue 30523, page 2004. King George V presented the decoration to his mother, Lucy Boughey, at Buckingham Palace on 2 March 1918.

Stanley Henry Parry Boughey rests in Gaza War Cemetery, where his courage and sacrifice remain part of the history of the Palestine campaign.