Allan Leonard Lewis

Allan Leonard Lewis
Born	28 February 1895 Whitney-on-Wye, Herefordshire
Died	21 September 1918 (aged 23) Rossnoy, near Lempire, France
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Lance Corporal
Unit	The Northamptonshire Regiment
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Victoria Cross

Allan Leonard Lewis VC (28 February 1895 – 21 September 1918) 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.

Details

Lewis was 23 years old, and a Lance-Corporal in the 6th Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 18 September 1918 at Rossnoy, near Lempire, France, Lance-Corporal Lewis was in command of a section on the right of the attacking line, held up by intense machine-gun fire. He saw that two guns were enfilading the line and crawled forward alone, successfully bombed the guns and by rifle fire made the whole team surrender. On 21 September he rushed his company through the enemy barrage, but was killed while getting his men under cover from heavy machine-gun fire.^[1]

Further information

Lance-Corporal Lewis is remembered on the Vis-en-Artois memorial near Vis-en-Artois British Cemetery, Haucourt as he has no known grave.^[2] The medal was handed to Lance-Corporal's Lewis's elder brother Frank by their mother. She made him promise that the medal would never be sold as she said that she lost a son, and she considered any profit from it would be blood money. Frank kept the medal in his home until his death. It was then agreed by the children of Frank that as he still had a brother, alive, he could hold the medal for his remaining days and then it was to be placed in a museum, either the regimental or local Hereford. When this brother died, the medal was assumed to be part of his estate and was kept by sole beneficiary of the will. Despite requests from Frank's close family, the medal was not returned and therefore not put into a museum.

As the centenary of Allan's sacrifice approaches (September 21st 2018), the A L Lewis VC Memorial Fund https://www.facebook.com/lewisvcmemorialfund/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel has been set up. Their purpose is to raise funds to honour him with a life-size bronze statue to stand in the Old Market, Hereford. He remains Herefordshire's only county-born VC recipient.

References

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