FULLER William Charles. (Reg. No.433)
Lance-Corporal (later Sergeant) 2nd Battalion The Welch Regiment.
London Gazetted on 23rd November 1914.
Born on 24th March 1884 at Laugharne, Carmarthen, Wales.
Died on 29th December 1974 at Swanse, Glamorganshire, Wales.
Memorial: Buried in an unmarked grave in Oystermouth Cemetery, Swansea, Wales.
Digest of Citation reads:
On 14 September 1914 near Chivy-sur-Aisne, France, Lance-Corporal Fuller advanced under very heavy fire and machine-gun fire to pick up an officer who was mortally wounded, and carried him back to cover.
Additional information: He held the Royal Humane Society Medal for Life-saving.
He was the son of William and Mary Fuller of Laugharne, Carmarthen. Educated in Swansea, he joine the Army in 1902. He served in the European War (WW 1) from 1914 where he won his VC for saving Capt Haggard who had fallen wounded. He carried him a distance estimated at 100 yards to a ridge where he managed to dress the officer's wounds. Capt Haggard asked L/Cpl Fuller to fetch his rifle from where he'd fell. He didn't want the enemy to get it. Fuller managed to do this.
With the help of two others, Private Snooks and Lieutenant Melvin, Officer i/c the machine-gun section of the Welch Regiment, they managed to get Haggard to the safety of a barn that was being used as a First-Aid dressing station.
L/Cpl Fuller remained with Captain Haggard trying to help him until the officer Died on later that evening. His last words to Fuller were "Stick it, Welch." After he'd Died on L/Cpl Fuller attended to two ther officers who had also been brought to the barn wounded. (Lt. The Hon Fitzroy Somerset and Lt. Richards.)
The barn came under heavy fire and the wounded men and officers were evacuated. Later it was raised to the ground with shell-fire.
On the 29th of October he was wounded whilst dressing the wounds of Private Tagge a fellow soldier. Shrapnel entered his right side, twelve inches in up to his shoulder blade and came to rest on his right lung. After he was sent to the United Kingdom, in fact to Swansea Hospital where they operated, removing the shrapnel. He was given a home posting, after his recovery, as a successful recruiting Sergeant in his native Wales.
On the postcard, you can see he's wearing his RHS lifesaving medal on his right breast.
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Topic: Two Welsh VC's (Read 1384 times)