Charles Edward Hudson
| Charles Hudson | |
|---|---|
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hudson in 1918
|
|
| Born |
29 May 1892 Derby, Derbyshire, England |
| Died | 4 April 1959 (aged 66) St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, England |
| Buried at | St Mary's Churchyard, Denbury, Devon, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1946 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit |
Sherwood Foresters King's Own Scottish Borderers |
| Commands held |
182nd Infantry Brigade (1941–43) 159th Infantry Brigade (1941) 46th Infantry Division (1940–41) 2nd Infantry Brigade (1938–40) 2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers (1938) |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Russian Civil War Second World War |
| Awards |
Victoria Cross Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches (5) Croix de Guerre (France) Silver Medal of Military Valor (Italy) |
Major General Charles Edward Hudson VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC (29 May 1892 – 4 April 1959) was a senior British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Charles Edward Hudson was born on 29 May 1892, the son of Lieutenant Colonel H.E. Hudson. He was educated at a Prep School in East Grinstead, Surrey, and later at Sherborne School, Dorset, which he attended (The Green) from September 1905 to July 1910. Charles did not stand out during his time at Sherborne School. He later recounted, in his journal published by the biography by his son Miles Hudson, Two Lives 1892–1992, that being morbidly afraid of physical pain he was "terribly conscious of being a coward on the football field" and that it was not until he had been at Sherborne for some years that he was able to overcome these physical fears.
After leaving Sherborne School, Hudson went to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, but was unable to finish the one-year course owing to the death of his father. Instead he went to Ceylon and from 1912 to 1914 worked as an apprentice tea planter, also engaged in the first experimental rubber planting on the island. There, he served part-time in the Ceylon Mounted Rifles, in an independent section formed of six young Europeans in the district he was working.
On the outbreak of the First World War he returned to England and was granted a commission in the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) 2nd Battalion, with whom he served in France and Italy, to the rank of temporary lieutenant colonel. During this time he received numerous military honours: in 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross, in 1917 the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, and in 1918 the Victoria Cross. He was also mentioned in despatches five times and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Italian Silver Medal of Military Valor. At just the age of 26, Hudson was one of the youngest Old Shirburnians to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
...
Wikipedia