Brave Privates & Artists

Private (later Sergeant) A Vickers VC (1882 – 1944)

The ‘Titch’ whose bravery in WW1 at Loos won him a Victoria Cross

Arthur Vickers was born in Aston in Birmingham in 1882. Due to his small stature, he was just over 5 foot; it took him 6 attempts before he was finally accepted into the 2nd Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1902. He was known affectionately as ‘Titch’. He served for 6 years until 1908 and then re-enlisted a few days after the outbreak of War in 1914. He was posted to France in 1915, and after only four months he was in action in operations before Hulloch in France for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross and the French Military Medal.

His gallant action contributed largely to the success of the assault, which resulted in the capture of 60 prisoners and the achievement of the objective. An indication of the severity of the fighting that day is that after the attack the Battalion could only muster 5 officers and 140 men. The rest were either killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

Private Vickers received his gallantry award from King George V at Buckingham Palace in 1916. He continued to serve with the Regiment until 1935 when he retired as a Sergeant. After leaving the army he worked for Messrs Lucas Ltd and served in the Home Guard during World War II. He died aged 62 in 1944 and was buried at Witton Cemetery in Birmingham.

Private Arthur Hutt, VC (1889 – 1954)

The private who commanded a platoon and was awarded a Victoria Cross

On 4th October, 1917, during the attack by the 48th Division before St.Julien, the 7th Battalion had as their objective Tweed House. "A" Company captured their first objective but when they continued their advance, all the officers and non-commissioned officers in Private Hutt's platoon were hit. Private Hutt then took command and led forward the platoon. He was held up by a strong point on his right, but immediately ran forward alone, shot the officer and three men in the post, and caused forty or fifty others to surrender. Presently realising that he had pushed too far ahead, Private Hutt withdrew his party.

He personally covered the withdrawal, sniping the enemy and killing a few of them. Then he carried back a comrade, who had been badly wounded, and put him under shelter. After he had organised and consolidated his position, he learnt that some wounded men still lay out in the open, where they were likely to be taken prisoners. As no stretcher bearers were available, Hutt went out himself and carried in four men under heavy fire. He held his post until relieved on 7/8 October.

A.A. Milne (1882 – 1956)

Winnie the Pooh author who wrote military propaganda in WW1

The author A.A. Milne, most famous for writing the Winnie the Pooh stories, served with the regiment in World War I.

Although a pacifist, due to cultural and social pressures, he enlisted in February 1915. Perhaps due to his Maths degree from Cambridge he went on a Signalling course and became a Signalling Officer. He trained others on the Isle of Wight before joining the 11th Battalion in the Somme on the 25th July 1916. On the 8th August his best friend was killed by a shell. On the 10th his fellow signalling officer was severely wounded, thus meaning that he had to take charge of his men on the 11th to lay the telephone lines for an action later that night.

In early November 1916 he caught trench fever and was so ill that on the 7th he was taken to hospital in Oxford.

On recovery he was deemed unfit to return to the Front and was a signalling instructor with the royal signals and joined MI7 which was made up of well-known writers who produced military propaganda.

Captain Bruce Bairnsfather (1887 – 1959)

Famous cartoonist in the trenches of WW1

He was a man of extraordinary talent ranging from acting, playwright, film producer and author. His cartoons have appeared on plates, cups, car mascots and ashtrays all of which are now collectors’ pieces.

His characters have appeared on postcards, playing and cigarette cards, jigsaw puzzles and during World War II on the noses of bombers of the American Eighth Air Force for which he acted as official cartoonist.

Born in India the son of an Army family, Bruce's parents were an artistic couple, his mother a painter and his father a musician and composer. As soon as his fingers could hold a pencil Bruce had drawn pictures and this early talent developed through his schooldays in India and England. He grew up in the Warwickshire village of Bishopton, just northwest of Stratford upon Avon.

He joined the third Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1905 and subsequently transferred to his father's old Regiment, The Cheshire’s, for a short time. After formal training at Hassall Art School, and a variety of engineering jobs, he became an electrical salesman and part-time artist. He re-joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1914 and was commissioned into the 3rd (Service Reserve) Battalion in September of that year.

He arrived in France as the Machine Gun Officer and experienced trench life and active service for the first time. After the battle of Ypres, he was invalided back to England, and it was here that his recollections of the trenches appeared in cartoon form with his best-known character 'Old Bill'. From this point on his fame as a cartoonist grew and he became the officially appointed Cartoonist in the Intelligence Department. This was his formal acceptance as an artist at last - with regular contributions to the Bystander, Bullets and Billets. 'Old Bill' featured in many theatre reviews at the time.

In the twenties and thirties, he successfully acted and produced on stage and screen. In the early years of World War 2 Bruce was working for the Illustrated London News and Tatler and in 1942 he was appointed as an official cartoonist to the American Forces in Europe. This proved to be a profitable association. At the end of the war demand for his work declined and he eventually died in 1959. He is best remembered for his direct humour and inspired captions which found an instant response amongst soldiers in the trenches in World War 1.

Captain R E Phillips, VC (1895-1968)

Who risked his life to save his Colonel in WW1 and won a Victoria Cross

Robert Edwin Phillips was born on the 11th April 1895 in West Bromwich. He served as a Temporary Lieutenant and later Captain with the 13th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment but was attached to the 9th Battalion who were involved in fierce fighting against the Turks near Kut in Mesopotamia.

On the 25th January 1917 a Turkish counter attack had driven the leading British troops out of their trenches. Colonel Henderson the commanding officer of the 9th Battalion was severely wounded during the Battalion’s attack to regain the position. Captain Phillips showed great courage both during the attack and in bringing Colonel Henderson back to the British trenches. Captain Phillips survived the War and died in Cornwall in 1968.

Brigadier C T Tomes CBE DSO,MC (1882 – 1972)

Caring Commander of the Royal Warwickshire’s in WW2

His family has been associated with Warwickshire for many years. Records show that the family has owned land near Stratford-upon-Avon since the 14th Century, and it was the family house in Long Marston where his direct ancestor John Tomes sheltered a disguised King Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

Clement Thurstan Tomes was born in Allhabad, India, son of Surgeon Lt Colonel A Tomes of the Indian Medical Service. He was educated at Marlborough and Sandhurst, joining the 4th Battalion at Peshawar.

1908 took part in the Mohmand operations on the NW Frontier

1910 becoming adjutant in 1910. During that time he earned a name for himself as a 1st class shot, winning many Army in India prizes for musketry and training a highly successful Regimental team. 1912 he married in Bombay, Gladys Newall, sister of Cyril Newall a subaltern in the Regiment, who was later to join the Royal Flying Corps and become Marshal of the RAF Lord Newall. "Monty" was in the 1st Battalion at that time and they became close friends.

1914 at the outbreak of war, he went with the Battalion to France. He was wounded twice, at Meteren and the 2nd Battle of Ypres. He spent the whole of WWI in France except for a spell in Northern Italy with the British force sent to help the Italians after the disastrous Battle of Caporetto. He was awarded the DSO, MC and Legion of Honour and was three times Mentioned in Despatches.

After the war he was Brigade Major at Lichfield and Shorncliffe and also for a time served in the Sudan during unrest there in the mid-1920s, and then again returned to India and to the 2nd Battalion.

Later, he was 2nd in Command of the 1st Battalion before taking over Command from Lt Col C R Macdonald. Whilst at Shorncliffe, being a keen horseman, he became Master of the Garrison Drag Hounds, the Regiment also supplying the huntsmen and whips.

1928 The Battalion moved to Woking as part of the "experimental" newly mechanised Brigade in the Aldershot Command.

1931 he was promoted Colonel and became Assistant Adjutant General at the War Office

1935 appointed Brigadier i/c Administration HQ British Troops in Egypt.

1939 Retired in the spring but was recalled on the outbreak of war in September and went to France as Deputy Adjutant General 2nd Echelon BEF. After Dunkirk, he served in Northern Command.

1941 he retired and was awarded the CBE. Throughout the rest of the war he was, as Colonel of the Regiment, to which he had been appointed in 1935, closely involved with Regimental affairs in a greatly expanded army, keeping in touch with the old and new battalions and the families of those who were casualties or POWs. He published a booklet on Military Customs and Origins, a subject in which he had an abiding interest, sold for the benefit of the Red Cross POW Fund.

His son and two grandsons served in the Regiment.

1948 His wife died and he married secondly Clare, widow of LT Col 'Tommy' Taylor, another Royal Warwick, who had commanded the 2nd Battalion. He was devoted to the Regiment and was steeped in its history and traditions.