Samuel Forsyth

Samuel Forsyth
Sergeant Samuel Forsyth, 1918
Born (1891-04-03)3 April 1891
Wellington, New Zealand
Died 24 August 1918(1918-08-24) (aged 27) †
Grévillers, France
Buried Adanac Military Cemetery, France
Allegiance New Zealand
Service/branch New Zealand Military Forces
Years of service 1914–18
Rank Sergeant
Unit New Zealand Engineers
Battles/wars

First World War

Awards Victoria Cross

Samuel Forsyth, VC (3 April 1891 – 24 August 1918) was a New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in 1891, Forsyth enlisted with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Serving with the New Zealand Engineers, he participated in the Gallipoli Campaign and later fought on the Western Front. He was killed in the Second Battle of Bapaume during which he performed the actions that led to the posthumous award of the VC.

Early life

Samuel Forsyth was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 3 April 1891,[1] one of four children of Thomas Forsyth of Thorndon, who was a night watchman on the SS Maori.[2] He attended Thorndon School and later Terrace School. After completing his education, he found employment as a gold amalgamator for the Monowai Gold Mining Company based at Thames.[3]

Forsyth participated in charity work, volunteering for the Sailor's Friend Society. He was also interested in the military and in 1910, joined the Territorial Force in which he served as a field engineer.[3]

First World War

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, Forsyth enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and embarked for the Middle East in October 1914 as a sapper with the New Zealand Engineers. He landed at Gallipoli in May 1915 during the Gallipoli Campaign, but was medically evacuated two months later. He returned to duty at Gallipoli and was lightly wounded during the August offensive later that year, but remained in the front-line. He was medically evacuated in November 1915 to the island of Lemnos and then onto England, where he spent several months in various hospitals around the country.[3] On recovering his health, in April 1916 Forsyth was posted to the 3rd Field Company of the New Zealand Engineers, which was serving with the New Zealand Division on the Western Front. The same year he spent a period of leave in the United Kingdom and struck up a relationship with a Glaswegian, Mary, who he soon married. The next year, he was promoted to corporal.[4] During operations around the village of La Basseville, he was noted for his service.[5] By May 1918, Forsyth had attained the rank of sergeant.[4]

In late August 1918 Forsyth was on a temporary attachment to 2nd Battalion, Auckland Infantry Regiment during the early stages of the Hundred Days Offensive. He was on probation for a commission in his unit and his attachment to the battalion was to gain front-line experience. On 24 August 1918, during the Second Battle of Bapaume, the battalion was ordered to capture of the village of Grévillers.[6] On reaching the outskirts of the village, German machine gun fire prevented any further forward movement. Forsyth, scouting ahead of his platoon, made contact with two British tanks and despite been exposed to the German machine guns, guided them in, providing covering fire for the New Zealanders. One tank was soon crippled by artillery fire. Despite having been wounded in the arm, he assisted its crew to evacuate the tank and then organised them, along with several other soldiers, into a flanking party to attack the machine gun nest holding up the advance. The Germans shortly withdrew and the advance was able to continue. Forsyth set about organising defensive positions but was fatally shot by a sniper.[7]

Forsyth's actions were instrumental in the capture of Grévillers and it was for this that he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (VC).[6] The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the British Empire.[8] The citation for Forsyth's VC read,

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack. On nearing the objective, his company came under heavy machine-gun fire. Through Serjt. Forsyth's dashing leadership and total disregard of danger, three machine-gun positions were rushed and the crews taken prisoner before they could inflict many casualties on our troops. During subsequent advance his company came under heavy fire from several machine guns, two of which he located by a daring reconnaissance. In his endeavour to gain support from a Tank, he was wounded, but after having the wound bandaged, he again got in touch with the Tank, which in the face of very heavy fire from machine guns and anti-Tank guns, he endeavoured to lead with magnificent coolness to a favourable position. The Tank, however, was put out of action. Serjt. Forsyth then organised the Tank crew and several of his men into a section, and led them to a position where the machine guns could be outflanked. Always under heavy fire, he directed them into positions which brought about a retirement of the enemy machine guns and enabled the advance to continue. This gallant N.C.O. was at that moment killed by a sniper. From the commencement of the attack until the time of his death Serjt. Forsyth's courage and coolness, combined with great power of initiative proved an invaluable incentive to all who were with him and he undoubtedly saved many casualties among his comrades.

— The London Gazette, No. 30967, 18 October 1918[9]

Forsyth is one of 70 New Zealanders buried at Adanac Military Cemetery, near Miraumont in France.[10][11] A memorial tablet was erected in his honour at the premises of the Sailor's Friend Society in Wellington. There is also a plaque to him in Queen's Garden in Dunedin.[4]

Medal

Forsyth's wife, Mary, was presented with the Victoria Cross by King George V in late November 1918 at Buckingham Palace.[12] Following her death and having never had children, Forsyth's medals, which included not only the VC but also the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal, were inherited by a nephew. They were sold in 1982 to a collector in Melbourne, Australia.[4] The medals were purchased by Lord Ashcroft in 1992 and are on display in the Imperial War Museum.[13]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Sergeant Samuel Forsyth". Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  2. ↑ "All Sorts of People". New Zealand Free Lance. XVIII (957). 14 November 1918. p. 4. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Gliddon 2014, p. 103.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gliddon 2014, p. 104.
  5. ↑ Shera 1927, p. 142.
  6. 1 2 Harper & Richardson 2007, pp. 164–165.
  7. ↑ Harper 2007, pp. 389–390.
  8. ↑ O'Shea 2000, pp. 558–559.
  9. ↑ "No. 30967". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 October 1918. pp. 12487–12488.
  10. ↑ McGibbon 2001, p. 61.
  11. ↑ "Forsyth, Samuel". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  12. ↑ "War Honours". Evening Post (XCVII, issue 26). 30 January 1919. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Samuel Forsyth VC". Lord Ashcroft Medals. Lord Ashcroft Medal Collection. Retrieved 30 March 2018.

References

  • Gliddon, Gerald (2014) [2004]. Road to Victory 1918. VCs of the First World War. Stroud, Gloucestershire: History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5361-0.
  • Harper, Glyn; Richardson, Colin (2007). In the Face of the Enemy: The Complete History of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 1-86950-650-2.
  • Harper, Glyn (2007). Dark Journey: Three Key New Zealand Battles of the Western Front. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86950-579-0.
  • McGibbon, Ian (2001). New Zealand Battlefields and Memorials of the Western Front. Auckland, New Zealand: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-558444-9.
  • O'Shea, Phillip (2000). "Victoria Cross". In McGibbon, Ian. The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History. Auckland, New Zealand: Oxford University Press. pp. 558–561. ISBN 0-19-558376-0.
  • Shera, L. M.; Barclay, G.; Bogle, A. H.; Goss, A.; Williams, A. (1927). Official History of the New Zealand Engineers During the Great War 1914–1919. Wanganui, New Zealand: Evans, Cobb & Sharpe. OCLC 20732273.
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