Rider Haggard had a visit from the artist Caton Woodville on 5 January 1915. He required background information for a large drawing that would illustrate Mark’s rescue and which would be published in the Illustrated London News. Eight days later Haggard had another visitor, this time Cpl. Fuller himself who had just received his VC from the King at Buckingham Palace. The following describes Rider Haggard’s version of the talk with Fuller:
He described Mark as a man who would ‘fetch you a clout’ if you didn’t do what he told you … a circumstance which seemed to endear him to Fuller. He says that there was no hand-to-hand struggle between Mark and the Germans, so as such a struggle is clearly described by others, I can only suppose that either Fuller did not see it or that it occurred elsewhere. The study of the hero at home is rather amusing, for it appears that in private life Fuller is interested in breeding canaries, and he has no yearning desire to return to mingle in the joy of battle. In short, he seems to have had enough of it, and informed me that his nerve is not what it was, nor his weight either. Like myself he has been enjoying the influenza, and lay awake all last night at the lodging which was given him at Scotland Yard, coughing as I do, with this difference, that there, as he remarked pathetically, he was not allowed to spit. He showed me his VC, which he had just received from the King, in a little white cardboard box, but objected that they had put Corporal Fuller on the back of it, when at the time of Mark’s rescue he was Private. [In fact Fuller had been made up to lance-corporal on the morning of 14 September.]
Although Fuller assisted in the recruiting drive as a sergeant, his military career did not last much longer. His last day in the army was 31 December 1915 when he was judged unfit for future military service. He was to receive a pension of £10 a year made to all holders of the VC.
William (Bill) Fuller was born at Newbridge, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, West Wales on 13 March 1884, the son of William and Mary Fuller. The family, with at least seven children, moved to Swansea when William junior was about four years old. He attended at Rutland Street School, which was later destroyed in the Blitz, and Swansea Truant School which no longer exists. Fuller was inclined to play truant. His father was a sailor and later a prominent local butcher who died in 1901, at which point his widow was forced to become a charwoman. On 31 December 1902 Fuller enlisted in the Welch Regiment, and served in South Africa and India. He was discharged to the Reserve and recalled at the outbreak of war. In 1909 he had married Mary Elizabeth Philips at Swansea, and became caretaker at the Elysium Cinema in High Street, Swansea. Previously he had worked as a timber handler at John Lewis and Sons, a local timber merchant. By August 1914 he and his wife had two children, aged four and thirteen months. He went to France with the BEF on 11 August. Having rejoined the army, he left for France in August with the Welch Regiment.
One day in 1915 when he was home on leave, having been decorated with the VC the previous year, he visited a circus at Fishguard. News of his presence reached the proprietor who challenged him to appear in the same cage as the circus lions. Fuller accepted the challenge, took off his cap and walked fearlessly into the cage where he stroked the lions’ heads, while chatting to the trainer. He was presented with a gold medal and used the occasion to appeal for more recruits for the army.
Haggard’s widow had presented Fuller with a Hunter watch while the inhabitants of West Wales contributed to a gift of Exchequer Bonds at Tenby in 1916. It was clear that Fuller was a pretty fearless individual as on 7 June 1938 he saved the lives of two boys who had fallen into the sea, having been marooned on a sandbank near the Slip. Fuller, at some danger to himself, waded into the water fully clothed to save the boys. He received the Royal Humane Society Medal for Lifesaving for this action.
His occupation after the First World War was as proprietor of a horse-drawn fish cart in Swansea and he became a well-known personality at Swansea Docks. He also liked to breed greyhounds as a pastime. He used to regularly take part in Armistice Day commemorations as at that time he was thought to be Swansea’s only VC holder, but more recent research has revealed that Chief Petty Officer George Prowse was born in Swansea and not in Somerset as first thought.
During the Second World War he served as an air-raid warden in Swansea, and during the Blitz he and his wife were forced out of their home and for a time lived at West Cross, Mumbles, before moving to their final home in Westbury Street. In 1969 there was a report in the Swansea Evening Post that the eighty-five-year-old VC holder along with his eighty-one-year-old wife were not fit enough to attend a ceremony at Cardiff Castle. The two regiments that were to take part in the big parade were the Welch Regiment and the South Wales Borderers. On 11 June they were to amalgamate into the Royal Regiment of Wales. The Prince of Wales, as Colonel-in-Chief was to present the colours to the 1st Battalion.
On 29 December 1974 Bill Fuller died at his home, 55 Westbury Street, Swansea, aged ninety, and he left four daughters as well as several grandchildren. After a small private service at his home he was buried at Oystermouth Cemetery, Mumbles, Swansea on 2 January 1975. More than a hundred mourners attended the ceremony and the coffin was draped with the Union Jack on which were placed his medals, military belt and cap. The coffin was carried from his house by members of the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Royal Regiment of Wales. The cortège had a police escort through the streets of Swansea and ‘The Last Post’ was played by a bugler of the 3rd Battalion. On 2 January 2006 Fuller’s grave, unmarked apart from a flower vase, was given a proper headstone. In 1996 a silver candlestick was presented to the local church by the Laugharne Branch of the Royal British Legion in memory of William Fuller VC. Guests at the handing over ceremony included members of Fuller’s family as well as the Lord Lt. of Carmarthenshire. Fuller’s grave also contains the remains of his wife who died in 1969, his son William who died in 1971 aged fifty-seven and his daughter Doris who died in 1979.
Besides the VC, Fuller’s other medals included the 1914 Star with clasp, and the British War and Victory Medals. He later received the George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medals of 1937 and 1953 respectively. The regiment also wished to acquire Fuller’s medals. They are presumably still with his family.
Mark Haggard is commemorated in the village church at Ditchingham, and in Shipdham, Norfolk. His name is listed on two other war memorials in Wales, at Rosolven in the Neath Valley and at Ammanford.
W.H. JOHNSTON
Missy, France, 14 September
W.H. Johnston (second left) is presented with the Victoria Cross by the King, 3 December 1914
Under very heavy fire the 5th Division continued its efforts to cross the River Aisne during the night of 13/14 September between the bridges at Venizel to the east and Missy to the west. The bridges at these two crossings had not yet been adequately repaired by the Royal Engineers. In addition, at night the Germans were using strong searchlights to illuminate the scene.
On 13 September the 14th Brigade (5th Div.) had crossed the river between the Venizel and Missy bridges, close to a mill called the Moulin des Roches, and made progress on a line from St Marguerite to Missy. The 15th Brigade attempted to link up with them. All day on the 14th men and ammunition were taken across the swollen river on rafts. In places the Aisne was 170 feet wide and in the middle it was often as deep as 15 feet. On the return journeys from the north bank the wounded were brought back on the rafts.
On 14 September 1914 no fewer than four Victoria Crosses were won in the Aisne battle. One of them went to a member of the 59th Field Coy. Royal Engineers, Capt. W.H. Johnston, who together with Lt. R.B. Flint worked all day until 19.00 hours, in ferrying men from the 15th Brigade over the Aisne, at the Moulin des Roches. The two men had worked from dawn to dusk carrying out this crucial work under heavy fire. During the afternoon German Howitzers (8 inch and 5.9s) came into play from the strongly held north bank. Throughout the day the area had become a deathtrap from the German guns on the opposite heights, which rose as high as 400 feet. The situation on the north
bank became untenable and on the 15th the men had to be brought back. Flint was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his role. He was killed the following year in January 1915. He was also mentioned in despatches.
The 3rd Division had crossed the river to the right of Missy at Vailly and the 4th at Venizel to the left. It was important that the gap between these two divisions should be filled as soon as possible. The 14th Brigade were to remain between St Marguerite and Missy, until Fort de Condé was in British hands. The fort overlooked the British advance to the north-east. All this took place down stream from Missy and today the site of the Moulin des Roches is close to a large factory complex. The real progress of the day, however, occurred to the right where Sir Douglas Haig’s I Corps was advancing between Chavonne and Moulins on the north bank of the river.
Johnston’s VC was published in The London Gazette on 25 November and he was presented with the medal at General Headquarters, France, by the King on 3 December 1914. A photograph of the ceremony shows Johnston towering above the King in height. In the War Office file WO 32/4993 there is a query regarding Johnston from the War Office to Sir John French which asks, ‘What were the operations around Missy which more show how far his actions would contribute to success?’
In March 1915 Capt. Johnston was appointed to the command of 172nd Company and on 2 May became brigade major of the 15th Brigade. He was given his Brevet for this rank on 3 June but was killed only five days later by a sniper in trenches in the Ypres Salient near Zwarteleen.
Johnston was an infantryman at heart and had a strong contempt for enemy fire. He was killed by a sniper on the St Eloi front on 8 June 1915. It may be that his audacity and his height contributed to his death. He was buried at Perth Cemetery (China Wall), Zillebeke, plot III, row C, grave 12, to the south of Hooge. It was a premature end for a man who was clearly a brilliant soldier and who would have progressed far in the army hierarchy.
William Henry Johnston was born at Leith, Edinburgh on 21 December 1879 and was the son of Maj. William Johnston (RA) and his wife Mary. He entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich and was awarded a commission in the Royal Engineers on 23 March 1899. He went overseas to Gibraltar where he spent five years working in Intelligence. He had been made a lieutenant on 19 November 1901. When he returned to England he was employed in the Survey Department. In 1908 he left this position for service in China, as a GSO where he was made up to captain on 23 March 1908. He served in China for three years, and travelling widely, was once more working in Intelligence. He was also involved in surveying the boundary between China and the recently acquired New Territories of the Colony of Hong Kong. In 1911 Johnston worked in South China. At the end of July 1912 he returned to England to work in the War Office for eleven months, this time in the Geographical Section. He entered Staff College in 1913 and began his course there in January 1914.
At the beginning of 1914 he joined 59th Field Company and went out to France with the BEF in August 1914 taking part in the retreat from Mons, where he was in charge of a mounted section of the company. Here his section was responsible for building a pontoon bridge over the Haine in order to allow infantry to retire. His colleague, Lt. Flint was responsible for blowing up a bridge in the same area on 23 August 1914. A couple of days later the company was involved in infantry fighting for the first time. At 07.15 hours on the 26th the men were assembled outside their billets at Reumont, near Le Cateau and were about to move off when their Commanding Officer, Maj. Walker was summoned to a meeting at 14th Brigade HQ at Le Cateau.
Meanwhile, Johnston went into the town briefly in order to look out materials suitable for shelter. He also searched for Brigade HQ but was unable to find it. He and his party did, however, meet up with the enemy when a German ammunition column dashed up the road from Le Cateau and went through the company’s lines, causing some confusion. The company then assisted 19th Brigade, which was on the right flank of the 5th Division. A few hours later they too joined in the retreat, and their tasks from then on until reaching the Aisne consisted mainly of blowing up bridges.
After Johnston’s death Count Gleichen wrote of him in his memoirs The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade:
He never spared himself an ounce. He was occasionally so nearly dead with want of sleep that I once or twice ordered him to take a night’s sleep; but he always got out of it on some pretext or other … he seemed to like getting shot at. One night he got a ricochet bullet over his heart, but this only put him in a furious rage … he was a wonderful fellow all round, always full of expedients and never disheartened by the cruel collapse of his plans by the wet weather.
Johnston had married on 6 June 1897 at Emmanuel church, Attercliffe, Sheffield. His wife was Mary Florence Edwards, daughter of Thomas Edwards. They had two sons, born in 1903 and 1907 respectively. After the war Johnston was commemorated at St Luke’s in Kew, Surrey. It was here that his parents lived in a house called Hurstleigh. His VC is in the Museum of the Royal Engineers at Chatham, Kent. He was mentioned in despatches on four occasions. His name is inscribed on a memorial arch in Hamilton, being one of fourteen VC holders with Lanarkshire connections. It was unveiled on 19 April 2002 by Dr John Reid, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The memorial was designed by Duncan Brown, an artist who paints portraits of VC holders.
G. WILSON
Near Verneuil, France, 14 September
The 2nd Highland Light Infantry of the 5th Infantry Brigade was part of the 2nd Division. It participated briefly in the fighting at Mons in August 1914 and a few days later at Etreux where the men were involved in repairing roads. On 14 September during the main part of the Battle of the Aisne, the HLI was involved in the fighting in a line roughly parallel to the Oise and Aisne Canal, with the village of Braye to the north-west and Moussy Verneuil to the south-east.
The 1st Royal Berkshire Regiment and 1st King’s Royal Rifle Corps of the 6th Brigade were pushed back by the Germans to a position abreast of Beaulne, a small village to the south-west of Chivy, which was just under half a mile from Moussy-Verneuil. However the KRRC was then reinforced by men of the 2nd Worcester Regiment and 2nd HLI of the 5th Brigade who were able to stem the German advance until the British artillery in the form of 46 and 113 Batteries, began to operate. Later in the day, according to the Official Historian, these three battalions were able to advance up the eastern slopes of the Beaulne Spur, where they managed to hold on.
During this period of fighting a remarkable deed of heroism took place. The two companies of the KRRC fell back and were then assisted by the Worcesters and the HLI who with the KRRC then went forward to try and take a small wood near Moussy-Verneuil in which the Germans had established a machine gun. This attack by the British left an exposed left flank on the edge of the wood. The enemy then proceeded to take a heavy toll of the HLI and the KRRC. It was at this stage that Pte. George Wilson (HLI) took a hand in the battle.
Moussy-Verneuil, 14 September
At Verneuil, adjacent to Moussy the 2nd HLI came into action for the first time since Mons. They had been involved for an hour only when he spied a couple of Germans and informed his officer. The officer was incredulous and took up his glasses to take a closer look but he was shot dead immediately. Wilson quickly avenged his killing by taking aim and shooting the two Germans. He then advanced about a hundred yards and saw eight more Germans. He charged them at once making noises as though he was accompanied by a strong group. The Germans immediately surrendered and in doing so gave up two prisoners from the Middlesex Regiment. Wilson shouted for assistance and handed over the captured Germans. It was then when he was going forward that he came across the scores of wounded and dead who had previously been part of the attacking left flank and who had been caught by German machine-gun fire. Wilson was so incensed by the terrible massacre that he virtually went berserk and together with a volunteer from the KRRC he set out to destroy the German machine-gun position. After only a hundred yards Wilson’s colleague was shot dead by the
machine gun. Wilson took steady aim and killed the machine gunner, his third German that day. In fact, Wilson wiped out the whole of the enemy position by his careful and accurate shooting until he got as close as 10 yards from the gun. At this point the officer in charge of the Maxim emptied his revolver in the direction of the Highlander but missed. It was a costly error as Wilson quickly plunged his bayonet into him and killed him. But even then Wilson was not satisfied and turned the gun round against the enemy and fired 750 rounds. Throughout this time he was a victim of heavy shellfire which eventually forced him back to his own lines where he promptly fainted. When he came round he discovered that no one had thought of retrieving the Maxim so he set off again to bring back the gun. It took two more trips to carry back the remaining two and a half cases of ammunition as well. He still had one more task to carry out and this was to fetch the body of his colleague from the KRRC who had been shot seventeen times. Wilson’s action must rank as one of the most effective and courageous of the early months of the First World War.
Pte. Wilson wrote out his account by hand and gave it to Lt. Col. J.C. Jameson, the Commanding Officer of the Field Ambulance to which he was sent after being wounded in the action. On the same day Lt. Sir Archibald Gibson Craig, Wilson’s platoon commander, was killed leading his platoon in an attack on another machine gun.
Wilson’s VC was gazetted on 5 December, although he had received it already from the King who visited the regiment on 3 December. There is a note in the War Office file WO 32/4993 that Wilson’s name had been accidentally omitted from the list of those recommended for the VC – but the omission did not last for long. Unfortunately Wilson was wounded more seriously later, and then gassed and wounded once more at Loos. He was subsequently discharged from the army in 1916 and resumed his former occupation of selling newspapers in the streets of Edinburgh, where was known as the ‘Newsboy VC’.
VCs of the First World War 1914 Page 12