George Arthur Boyd-Rochfort was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

He was 35 years old, and a Second Lieutenant in the Scots Guards, British Army, (Special Reserve, attd. 1st Bn.) during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 3 August 1915 between Cambrin and La Bassee, France, a German trench-mortar bomb landed on the side of the parapet of the communication trench in which Second Lieutenant Boyd-Rochfort was standing close to a small working party of his battalion. Instead of stepping back into safety he shouted to his men to look out, rushed at the bomb, seized it and hurled it over the parapet where it at once exploded. This combination of presence of mind and courage saved the lives of many of the working party.

He later achieved the rank of Captain.

His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Scots Guards RHQ) (London, England).

Reference

• Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)
• Monuments To Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915 (Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999)

External links

• Location of grave and VC medal (Co. Westmeath, Ireland)

This page has been migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference with permission.