Name Wilfred Fuller | Rank Corporal Role Armed force officer Battles and wars World War I | |
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Died November 22, 1947, Frome, United Kingdom | ||
Wilfred Dolby Fuller VC (28 July 1893 – 22 November 1947) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Fuller was born in Greasley, Nottinghamshire. When he was 21 years old, and a lance-corporal in the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British Army during the First World War, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his acts on 12 March 1915 at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, France.
Lance-Corporal Fuller saw a party of the enemy trying to escape along a communication trench. He ran towards them and killed the leading man with a bomb; the remainder (nearly 50) seeing no means of evading his bombs, all surrendered to him. Lance-Corporal Fuller was quite alone at the time.
He received his Victoria Cross from King George V at Buckingham Palace on 4 June 1915. In September of the same year, at the express wish of the Tsar of Russia, he was also decorated by the King at Sheffield with the Russian Cross of the Order of Saint George, 3rd Class.
Post war
In March 1916 he married Helena May Wheeler, a nurse at the Hammersmith Hospital from Somerset. Later the same year Corporal Fuller was discharged from the Army on medical grounds and towards the end of the year joined the Somerset Constabulary. He served at Milverton, Ilminster, Clevedon, Nunney and finally Frome where he performed his duties from Rodden Road police station. He retired from the police service on medical grounds in 1939 and took up residence in Frome. Wilfred and Helena had two daughters and a later adopted a son. He died aged 54 and lies buried at ChristChurch, Frome, Somerset.
His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Grenadier Guards Regimental Headquarters in Wellington Barracks, Chelsea, London.