COOKSON'S WWI VICTORIA CROSS MEDAL

 

A Victoria Cross (VC) awarded to a Wirral Lieutenant-Commander in WWI is expected to fetch£200,000 at auction.

The medal was awarded to Tranmere-born Lieutenant-Commander Edgar Christopher Cookson posthumously in 1916, after he was killed while leading a cavalry charge on water in 1915. It will be auctioned by Noonans Mayfair on March 13, expected to fetch between£180,000 and£220,000.

The VC was awarded during the operations involving the Tigris Flotilla, where Navy Lieutenant-Commander Cookson paid the ultimate price for his bravery in the river gunboat Comet. Under a storm of point-blank fire, he leapt aboard a Turkish sailing vessel called a dhow brandishing an axe - a fellow officer later observed "there were more bullet holes in him than they cared to count."

Mark Quayle, medal specialist and associate director of Noonans, said: Cookson's repeated acts of gallantry, in the harshest of environments, led to him making the ultimate sacrifice for both duty and for those who meant the most to him - the men under his command. Leading a ‘cavalry charge' on water in a desperate attempt to force his way through the enemy position ultimately proved futile, but his act was one of cold, calculated bravery in the face of certain death. Alas, he rolled the dice one too many times."

Edgar Christopher Cookson was born at Cavendish Park, Tranmere in December 1883 and he entered the Royal Navy as a Cadet in Britannia in September 1897. His distinguished service order was sent to his mum in September 1915 and she received his VC from the King at Buckingham Palace on November 29, 1916 - she was his only immediate relative since he was unmarried, and his dad had died.

To read the complete article, see:
WWI medals awarded to Wirral navy officer expected to fetch£200k at auction (https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/wwi-medals-awarded-wirral-navy-28698447)

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