William Coltman VC - the pacifist awarded the Victoria Cross.

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Videos mentioned in this episode:

Noel Chavasse - Double VC
   • Captain Noel Chavasse VC - WW1's Only...  

Arthur Martin-Leake VC & bar
   • The First Man To Be Awarded The Victo...  

Theodore Hardy (the VC army chaplain)
   • Britain's Most Decorated Army Chaplai...  

"Woodbine Willie" (Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy)
   • Who was Woodbine Willie?  

William Coltman, from Burton on Trent, Staffordshire had volunteered to join the army in the opening months of the war (joining his local regiment - the North Staffordshires).
However, the 23-year old, who was a deeply religious member of the Plymouth Brethren, realised that he couldn't take another life and so he requested to become a stretcher bearer.
In many ways, his story has some similarities to Desmond Doss in the film Hacksaw Ridge.

Through the rest of WW1 he risked his life countless times going out into no mans land to rescue wounded soldiers.

His bravery wasn’t just rewarded with the Victoria Cross but 2 Distinguished Conduct Medals and 2 Military Medals as well…which is a highly impressive record for a deeply religious pacifist.

Standing at 5 feet, 4 inches he only just made the height requirement to join the army (many smaller men were turned away but eventually were recruited by MP, Alfred Bigland, to form a battalion of their own, the Bantam Battalions - also known as Bigland's Bantams).

He ended the war as Britain's most highly decorated "other rank" soldier and was part of the honour guard at the burial of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey in 1920.

William Coltman returned to his hometown of Burton on Trent, where he worked in the local council's Parks Department until his retirement in 1963.

He died in 1974.

William Coltman is buried at St. Mary's church, Winshill, just outside Burton.
His medals are on display at the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, Lichfield.
At the museum there is a replica First World War trench named in William Coltman's honour.


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Other World War 1 videos that you may enjoy:

The Chilwell Munitions Factory Explosion
   • The Chilwell Munitions Factory Explosion  

Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey in "Dad's Army") real wartime service:
   • Arnold Ridley - Private Charles Godfr...  

William Coltman VC, DCM & bar, MM & bar
1891: Born, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England
1911: Recorded as farm servant in census
1913: Married Eleanor May Dolman
Jan 1915: Volunteers for 6th battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment
July 1916: Mentioned in Dispatches
Feb 1917: Awarded Military Medal (MM)
July 1917: Awarded Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM)
Aug 1917: Awarded bar to his MM
Sept 1918: Awarded bar to his DCM
Oct 1918: Awarded Victoria Cross (Britain's highest medal for bravery)
May 1919: Presented with his VC by King George V at Buckingham Palace
Nov 1920: Member of the Guard of Honour at the burial of the Unknown Soldier (Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey)
1943: Commissioned as an officer in the Army Cadet Force (ACF).
1948: Wife, Eleanor Died
1963: Retired from Burton-on-Trent Parks department
1974: Died.


Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:50 William Coltman
1:27 World War 1
2:09 Bantam Battalions
2:21 North Staffordshire Regiment
3:01 Stretcher Bearers
5:28 Medals For Bravery
7:17 Hundred Days Offensive
8:08 Battle of St. Quentin Canal
9:29 William Coltman VC
11:27 Britain's Unknown Warrior
12:45 Burton on Trent
13:26 Death & Legacy

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My name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.

History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or Youtube animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.

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Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham.

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