Jack Thomas Counter ["Tales of the V.C."]

Jack Thomas Counter VC (3 November 1898 – 16 September 1970) was an English 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 19 years old, and a Private in the 1st Battalion, The King's (Liverpool) Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 16 April 1918 near Boisieux St. Marc, France, it was necessary for information to be obtained from the front line and the only way to get it was over ground with no cover and in full view of the enemy. A small party tried without success, followed by six men, singly, each one being killed in the attempt. Private Counter then volunteered and, going out under terrific fire, got through and returned with vital information which enabled his commanding officer to organise and launch the final successful counter-attack. Subsequently he also carried five messages across the open under heavy artillery barrage to company headquarters. His medal is on display at the Jersey Museum, Saint Helier. The attached account of his actions was written by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the government to destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. Remarkably these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped, and one can trace the development of many individual articles from the notes based on an idea, to the pencil draft which is then followed by the hand-written submission and the typescript. The archive "Tales of the VC" comprises 94 individual accounts of the heroism that earned the highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross. These are recounted deferentially and economically, yet they still manage to move the reader. Date stamp: 17 July 1918.