Staffordshire's Heros

Samuel Parkes

Born in Tamworth in 1815, Parkes was a private in the 4th Light Dragoons.

    He was the first private soldier to receive the Victoria Cross in 1857 for his bravery during the Charge of the Light Brigade, where he saved the life of a trumpeter by fighting off six Cossacks. He was later taken prisoner when his sword was shot from his hand. 

Samuel was born in Tamworth and he worked as a labourer before joining the 4th Queens Own Light Dragoons in 1831, aged just 15 (although claiming to be 18). He served in India and later in the Crimea. After the Charge of the Light Brigade, Samuel was taken prisoner by the Russians and held for a year. 

William J. Richards

A soldier in the North Staffs Regiment during World War I, Richards was born in Aldergate, Tamworth.

    He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during an enemy attack".

    The DCM is the second-highest award for gallantry, ranked only below the Victoria Cross. 

William Coltman

Lance Corporal Coltman remains one of the most remarkable, yet often overlooked, heroes of the First World War. From Burton-on-Trent and serving as a private in the British Army’s North Staffordshire Regiment, he was a stretcher bearer, a non-combatant role that placed him in the heart of danger without the means to fight back.

Driven by an profound sense of duty to his comrades, Coltman repeatedly ventured into no man’s land under heavy shell and machine-gun fire to rescue the wounded. His incredible courage was not a single act, but a sustained pattern of selflessness throughout the conflict, particularly during the brutal battles of the Somme and Passchendaele.

For his countless acts of valour, Coltman was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the British military. He was also decorated with the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal, twice. This made him the most decorated non-commissioned officer of the entire war. William Coltman’s legacy is not one of inflicting violence, but of profound humanity and bravery in saving lives, a testament to the power of compassion amidst the horrors of war.

John Daniel Baskeyfield

A British Army Lance-Sergeant from Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his extraordinary valour during the Battle of Arnhem in 1944. After his anti-tank unit was decimated, he single-handedly manned a gun against overwhelming German forces, destroying two tanks and severely damaging a third. Even after being wounded, he refused to surrender his position. His defiant, solitary stand against an armoured advance became a legendary act of courage, immortalising his name in British military history.