Arthur
Vickers (2nd February 1882 to 27th July 1944)
It was 56
years after his death that Arthur “Titch” Vicker’s
finally got a headstone on this grave. Here I am stood beside it in Birmingham’s
massive cemetery at Witton Cemetery. I had a photo of
the headstone but was dismayed to find the cemetery covered 103 acres. To
prepare myself for an hour’s walking around I had a coffee and a cheese and
onion sandwich in the car. I found the grave quickly though – a bit of luck: I
had a photo of the headstone and behind it there was a broad expanse of short
grass. From the highest point in the cemetery I could see just one unused patch
of grass. I match up the trees in the photo and those before me and bingo -
found the grave.
As a youngster Arthur was known as “Midget” as he
never grew taller than five feet. He joined the Boer War as it was finishing
and served for six years (the war resulted in defeat for the British and the
second independence of the South African Republic.) As the First World War
commenced he wanted to help and tried to enlist in the army but was turned down
six times due to his height. However the Royal Warwickshire Regiment accepted
him and aged 33 he found himself fighting the Battle Of Loos in France. This
took place from September to October 1915 and is historically known for the
first British use of poison gas.
On Saturday 25th September 1915 the 33-year-old
Private Arthur was involved in a fight which resulted in heavy losses on both
sides. The combined forces of British, French and Belgiums
were trying to take over the trenches known as Hulloch
Quarry but as they advanced they were mowed down by Germans lying in trenches
with machine guns. Arthur and his battalion were told the barbed wire had been
cut and they could charge forward but it wasn’t. Machine guns rattled and cut
the men down men like a scythe in a field of corn. Arthur ran forward on his
own initiative and somehow cut through wire under very heavy shell, rifle and
machine-gun fire, allowing the battalion to charge ahead. Though it was
daylight and Arthur remained stood up as he cut away he was unharmed. At one
point he was cutting wire just 50 yards from the German front line while seeing
his comrades cut down all the while. Over 500 men went over the top but only
140 lived to shout their names out at roll call the next day.
Athur received
his medal from George V at Buckingham Palace in 1916. He also received the Medaille Medal from the French. After the war he returned
home to Birmingham to work at GEC in Witton and even
had a job collecting glasses in a pub. He died of stomach cancer and pulmonary
tuberculosis at City Hospital, West Heath aged 62. A ceremony took place on
13th November 2000 and the headstone which was funded by Birmingham City
Council was unveiled. Representatives of his family attended as did a section
of the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers who played the 'Last Post'.
This brave dude seemed to be buried alone here though
he’d married aged 40 and they’d had one son (but he only lived for a few
weeks.)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Me sat in the car before I went to
look for Arthur. I was expecting to be walking along the headstones for an hour
or two but got lucky…
Found him…
Arthur is in the middle…
