Sheffield plaque for Sgt Arnold Loosemore VC
- Published
Sgt Arnold Loosemore died in Sheffield aged 27
A plaque honouring a World War One soldier awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for bravery and devotion to duty has been unveiled in Sheffield.
Sgt Arnold Loosemore of the 8th Battalion Duke of Wellington's Regiment won the medal on 11 August 1917 when he single-handedly engaged the enemy.
He was one of seven Loosemore brothers from the city to serve in the war.
The plaque at the Cenotaph is part of a national scheme to remember all World War One recipients of the medal.
Sgt Loosemore won the VC as a private in an action in 1917
He won the highest award for gallantry that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces when his platoon was under heavy machine-gun fire.
Sgt Loosemore, then a private, crawled through partially cut wire, dragging a machine-gun with him when he engaged a large number of the enemy, killing about 20 of them.
Then his gun was blown up and three enemy soldiers rushed him, but he shot them all with his revolver.
On returning to his post, he also brought back a wounded comrade under heavy fire.
In 1918 he was also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, was injured by machine-gun fire and had to have his leg amputated just days before the end of the war.
After the war he returned to Sheffield, married and had a family. He died in 1924 aged just 27.
The plaque at the Cenotaph in Sheffield is part of a national scheme
Sgt Loosemore is the last of the city's three VC recipients to be honoured.
Maj William Barnsley Allen VC and Sgt Maj John Raynes VC of Sheffield have also been honoured with plaques.
- Published12 October 2015
