These were the words of Christopher Cox when called upon to speak at a public reception held in his honour in his home village of Kings Langley, Hertfordshire in 1917. Christopher had been awarded the Victoria Cross for his exemplary courage and devotion to duty whilst working as a stretcher-bearer during March 1917. Previous to this he had been in action on the first day of the Somme, where he was wounded for the first time. He then worked again as a stretcher bearer on the bloody battlefields of Thiepval where his regiment finally took control of the village in September 1916. At Aichet-le-Grand in March 1917 he went out alone after the regiment had been ordered to take cover and, working on his own, under fire, he continued to bring in wounded men, despite being wounded in the leg by shrapnel. In May 1917, he was again working at Cherisy, when he was shot in the foot. This wound was so severe he was repatriated to England and took no further part in the war in France. He remained in the Army carrying out duties in England

 The photograph above left was taken shortly after Chris had been met at Kings Langley railway station by his wife and family in July 1917. Chris was returning home on leave with his medal. His wife had been unable to accompany him to the Palace and in the photograph above she is looking at the medal in its box.

On 17 March 2007 a memorial commemorating Christopher Cox and the first liberation of Aichet-le-Grand was unveiled at the Star crossroads near the village. In the photo graph above a soldier of the Royal Anglian Regiment and a First World War re-enactor form a guard of honour beside the memorial.In September 2007 a special plaque remembering Chris Cox VC was unveiled in All Saints Church, Kings Langley.

Click HERE to visit Steve Cox’s website about his Grandfather.

Click HERE to visit Steve Fuller’s site about the Bedfordshire Regiment.

Both of Chris’s brothers also served in the War. Harry Cox served in the Navy and survived the war, but James Cox was killed in action in Belgium. He was wounded on the 1st October 1916 and died 2 days later at the No 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station near Poperinghe. He is buried with over 10,000 others in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium. Lest we forget.