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prisoners and killing one officer and two men. Later in the day he again rushed another enemy machine-gun position, capturing the gun under heavy fire. He was killed immediately after. His courage and dash were beyond all praise, and it was entirely due to the very gallant conduct of Lce. Cpl. Seaman that his company was enabled to push forward to its objective and capture many prisoners.
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For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. When the right flank of his company was held up by a nest of enemy machine guns, he, with great courage and initiative, rushed forward under heavy fire with his Lewis gun and engaged the position single-handed, capturing two machine guns and twelve
297:, played a key role in getting the advance restarted although he was killed in the process. Afterwards, his bravery was recognised with a posthumous award of the Victoria Cross (VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the
374:, the anthology is a collection of original stories from across Europe, chosen by the embassies of those countries. Unfit for Active Service was chosen by John Marshall, the British Ambassador to Luxembourg.
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254:. He was initially rejected, but he subsequently enlisted at Le Havre. However, he was classified as unfit for active frontline service and was posted to the catering division of the
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of the successor to the Army
Service Corps, The Royal Logistic Corps. As well as the MM, he was also entitled to several campaign medals, including the
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274:(MM) for attending, while under fire, to fellow soldiers who had been wounded. The recommendation for his MM was made by his company commander.
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by Ruth
Dugdall. The story was published in 2018 as part of an anthology to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War One. Entitled
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293:. After initial good progress, the battalion was held up by German machine-gun posts. Seaman, a lance corporal operating a
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On the outbreak of the First World War, Seaman returned to the United
Kingdom and tried to enlist in the
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The Tyne Cot
Memorial to the Missing, shown here in the background, includes a commemoration to Seaman
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Dugdall, Ruth (2018). "Unfit For Active
Service: Terhand, Belgium. 29th September 1918".
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230:. Educated at Scole Primary School, on finishing his schooling Seaman moved to
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saw standards for frontline service lowered and Seaman was transferred to an
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Ernest Seaman was born on 16 August 1893, in the village of
Heigham, near
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in late 1915. As the war progressed, the high casualty rates in the
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529:"The many faces of 1918 – WWI commemorations in Luxembourg"
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presented Seaman's VC to his mother in a ceremony at
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Seaman has no known grave but is commemorated at the
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British World War I recipients of the
Victoria Cross
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186:(16 August 1893 – 29 September 1918) was an
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590:. Luxembourg: Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg.
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480:(Supplement). 12 November 1918. p. 13473.
674:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross
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571:. London, United Kingdom: Headline Review.
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234:to live with an aunt and work as a
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669:Royal Army Service Corps soldiers
531:. UK Government. 23 November 2018
48:29 September 1918 (aged 25)
659:Recipients of the Military Medal
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268:The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
204:The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
123:The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
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639:Military personnel from Norwich
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16:Recipient of the Victoria Cross
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436:Lives of the First World War
567:Ashcroft, Michael (2007) .
382:Seaman's VC is held at the
266:unit, the 2nd Battalion of
260:British Expeditionary Force
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601:VCs of the First World War
595:Gliddon, Gerald (2014) .
368:Unfit for Active Service
202:forces. A soldier with
588:The Many Faces of 2018
372:The Many Faces of 1918
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287:Hundred Days Offensive
279:36th (Ulster) Division
238:in the Grand Hotel in
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138:Hundred Days Offensive
569:Victoria Cross Heroes
363:on 13 February 1919.
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283:Fifth Battle of Ypres
143:Fifth Battle of Ypres
99:Years of service
597:The Final Days 1918
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477:The London Gazette
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312:The London Gazette
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119:Army Service Corps
610:978-0-7509-5368-9
578:978-0-7553-1633-5
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634:1918 deaths
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501:27 December
472:"No. 31012"
623:Categories
560:References
402:References
394:, and the
240:Felixstowe
218:Early life
65:Allegiance
535:5 January
295:Lewis gun
102:1915–1918
60:, Belgium
40:, England
36:Heigham,
341:Thiepval
329:Tyne Cot
309:—
264:infantry
236:page boy
82:Service/
353:Norfolk
349:Suffolk
343:on the
291:Terhand
232:Trimley
224:Norwich
210:of the
196:British
188:English
149:†
58:Terhand
52:†
38:Norfolk
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390:, the
384:museum
161:Awards
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84:branch
378:Medal
345:Somme
339:near
333:Ypres
228:Scole
605:ISBN
573:ISBN
537:2021
503:2018
198:and
115:Unit
107:Rank
45:Died
31:Born
434:on
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184:MM
182:,
180:VC
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
