Henry Howey Robson

Henry Howey Robson
Born	27 May 1894 South Shields, County Durham
Died	4 March 1964 (aged 70) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Buried	York Cemetery, Toronto
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Private
Unit	Royal Scots
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Victoria Cross

Henry Howey Robson VC (18 February 1894 – 4 March 1964) 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.

Robson was 20 years old, and a private in the Second Battalion, The Royal Scots (The Lothian Regiment), British Army during World War I when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Cross.

On 14 December 1914 near Kemmel, Flanders/Belgium, during an attack on a German position, Private Robson left his trench under very heavy fire and rescued a wounded NCO. Subsequently, during another attack, he tried to bring a second wounded man into cover, while exposed to heavy fire. In this attack he was wounded almost at once, but persevered in his efforts until wounded a second time.^[1]

His Victoria Cross is now displayed at the Royal Scots Museum in the Edinburgh Castle of Scotland.

Robson moved to Canada in 1923 (after selling his medals for the trip), married Alice Maud Martin and served as a Sergeant-at-Arms in the Ontario Parliament in the 1930s in Toronto.^[2] He retired as information clerk in 1954 and died at Sunnybrook Hospital in 1964.^[3]

References[]

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• VCs of the First World War - 1914 (Gerald Gliddon, 1994)