Victoria Cross: H. P. Ritchie

HENRY PEEL RITCHIE

Commander, Royal Navy; HMS Goliath

Born: 29 January 1876, Melville Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: 9 December 1958, Edinburgh, Scotland

Citation: For most conspicuous bravery on the 28th November, 1914, when in command of the searching and demolition operations at Dar-es-Salaam, [German] East Africa. Though severely wounded several times, his fortitude and resolution enabled him to continue to do his duty, inspiring all by his example, until at his eighth wound he became unconscious. The interval between his first and last severe wound was between twenty and twenty-five minutes.

[London Gazette issue 29123 dated 10 Apr 1915, published 9 Apr 1915.]


Note: Commander Ritchie was the first member of the Royal Navy to earn the Victoria Cross during World War I.
German East Africa, later called Tanganyika, is now part of Tanzania.