William Short VC

William Short ignored the very severe wounds he received in the thick of the Battle near Pozières and continued fighting.  For his gallantry he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Short was born in Eston near Middlesbrough on 4 February 1887.  He lived there and later in Grangetown, working as a craneman in a local steelworks.  He was a keen footballer playing for Grangetown Albion, Saltburn and Lazenby United.  On 2 September 1914, a month after the outbreak of war, he enlisted in The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) and joined the 8th Battalion, part of the 23rd Division.

Towards the end of July and start of August 1916, fierce fighting raged on the Somme around the central village of Pozières.  On 4 August the 23rd Division renewed its attack on a key position to the south-east of the village known as Munster Alley.  Some ground was taken on 5 August.  The next day a further 135 metres of Munster Alley was seized by the 8th Yorkshires with the support of a devastating British artillery bombardment.

Short was one of the battalion’s bombers and played a key role in the attack. He was badly wounded in the foot.  Shortly after, his leg was completely shattered by a shell.  Despite the severity of his injuries, he remained in Munster Alley preparing bombs for the men nearby.  The 8th Yorkshires were finally relieved but Short died of his wounds.  On 9 September it was announced that he had been posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

In 1917 the steel helmet that Short wore throughout the action was one of the first exhibits deposited in the new Imperial War Museum.  He is now buried in Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery and a memorial to him, originally sited in the town square in Grangetown, stands in Eston Cemetery.