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Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
Wirral
Town
Hoylake
County
Merseyside
Country
England
Commemoration
VC or GC Recipients, First World War (1914-1918)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
2311

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Current location

Holylake Chapel
Evangelical Christian Church
Station Road
Hoylake
Wirral
Merseyside
CH47 4AQ
England

OS Grid Ref: SJ 21582 88774
Denomination: Nonconformist

View location on Google Maps
Description
Large ornate board. Wall mounted carved oak wall plaque with gold writing. It has two carved wooden columns down either side
Inscription
AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS/PTE FRANK LESTER 10TH (S) BATTALION LANCASHIRE/FUSILIERS FOR MANY YEARS A FAITHFUL MEMBER/OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL OF THIS CHURCH, WAS AWARDED/THE VICTORIA CROSS FOR A CONSPICUOUS ACT OF/GALLANTRY & SELF SACRIFICE IN THE GREAT WAR/DURING THE OPERATION OF CLEARING THE VILLAGE OF/NEUVILLY ON OCTOBER 12TH 1918. / HE WAS ONE OF A PARTY OF ABOUT SEVEN MEN UNDER/AN OFFICER, & WAS THE FIRST TO ENTER A HOUSE OCCUPIED/BY GERMANS WHOM HE SHOT. A MINUTE LATER A FALL OF/MASONRY BLOCKED THE DOORWAY BY WHICH THE PARTY/HAD ENTERED LEAVING ONLY AN EXIT INTO THE STREET/WHICH WAS BEING SWEPT BY MACHINE-GUN FIRE. A/SECOND PARTY OF EIGHT MEN WERE IN A SIMILAR/PLIGHT IN A HOUSE OPPOSITE, & FROM A HOLE HIGH UP/IN A GARDEN WALL A GERMAN SNIPER BEGAN TO PICK/OFF THE IMPRISONED MEN ONE BY ONE. DASHING OUT INTO THE STREET PTE. LESTER SHOT THE SNIPER FROM FIVE TO EIGHT YARDS RANGE, FALLING / HIMSELF MORTALLY WOUNDED AT THE SAME INSTANT./THE GALLANT MAN KNEW IT WAS CERTAIN DEATH/TO GO INTO THE STREET, BUT TO SAVE THE LIVES/OF HIS COMRADES HE SACRIFICED HIS OWN LIFE./THE SUBLIME ACT WAS CONSISTENT WITH/FRANK LESTER'S CHARACTER AND IDEALS.
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Lester, Frank
See details
Commemorations
  • VC or GC Recipients
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Rank, Forename, Surname, Regiment, Manner of Death, Place of death, Date of death
    Order of information: Undefined
  • First World War (1914-1918)
    Total names on memorial: 1
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 1
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Rank, Forename, Surname, Regiment, Manner of Death, Place of death, Date of death
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Board
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Wood - Oak
Listing information
Condition
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-2311

For queries, please contact [email protected].