William John House

William John House VC

Lance Corporal William John House VC (7 October 1879 – 28 February 1912) was a soldier of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment whose extraordinary courage during the Second Boer War earned him the Victoria Cross, the British Empire’s highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.

Born at Thatcham, Berkshire, House enlisted in the Royal Berkshire Regiment on 3 November 1896. When the Second Boer War broke out in 1899, his battalion was deployed to South Africa, where he quickly proved himself a dependable and courageous infantryman.

His defining moment came on 2 August 1900 during the attack on Mosilikatse Nek in the Transvaal. As a sergeant who had been sent forward to reconnoitre lay badly wounded under intense Boer rifle fire, Private House ignored repeated warnings to remain under cover. Fully aware that exposing himself almost certainly meant death or serious injury, he rushed across open ground to reach the wounded soldier. Lifting the sergeant onto his shoulders, House attempted to carry him back to safety but was himself severely wounded by enemy fire. Even while wounded, he refused assistance and warned his comrades not to leave cover, fearing they too would be shot.

For this conspicuous act of self-sacrifice and devotion to duty, William House was awarded the Victoria Cross, his citation appearing in The London Gazette on 7 October 1902, his twenty-third birthday. He later received the decoration personally from King Edward VII in London on 24 October 1902.

Following the war, House remained in the Army and was promoted to Lance Corporal. He was also awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with the clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State, and Transvaal, together with the King’s South Africa Medal with the clasps South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902.

Tragically, his life was cut short on 28 February 1912 at the age of just 32 while stationed at the Shaft Barracks in Dover. He died from a gunshot wound received while cleaning his rifle, an incident officially regarded as an accident, although later writers have suggested it may have been linked to the physical and psychological effects of the wounds he suffered in South Africa.

William John House is buried in St James’s Cemetery, Dover, and his Victoria Cross group is preserved in The Rifles Museum, Salisbury, ensuring that the courage he displayed on the battlefield continues to be remembered more than a century later.

“During the attack on Mosilikatse Nek, on 2nd August 1900, when a Sergeant, who had gone forward to reconnoitre, was wounded, Private House rushed out from cover (though cautioned not to do so, as the fire from the enemy was very hot), picked up the wounded Sergeant, and endeavoured to bring him into shelter, in doing which Private House was himself severely wounded. He, however, warned his comrades not to come to his assistance, the fire being so severe.” — The London Gazette, 7 October 1902