Arthur Walderne St Clair Tisdall

Arthur Walderne St. Clair Tisdall
Born	21 July 1890 Bombay, British India
Died	6 May 1915 (aged 24) Achi Baba, Gallipoli, Ottoman Turkey
Buried	No known grave
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1914–1915
Rank	Sub-Lieutenant
Unit	13 Platoon, D Company, Anson Battalion, Royal Naval Division[1]
Battles / wars	World War I Gallipoli campaign Landing at Cape Helles Landing at V Beach Krithia campaign Second Battle of Krithia  †
Awards	Victoria Cross

Arthur Walderne St. Clair Tisdall VC (21 July 1890 – 6 May 1915) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Life

Tisdall was born in Bombay, British India in 1890, and after emigrating attended Bedford School from 1900 to 1909.^[2] He went to university at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he rowed and attended the Officer Training Corps in his spare time.^[3] He attained a double first in classics.^[3]

Tisdall joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve when he was 24 years old, at the outbreak of the First World War.^[3] He enlisted as an Able Seaman at HMS President, the home of the London Division of the Royal Naval Reserve, but was soon promoted to Sub Lieutenant.^[3]

On the first day of the Gallipoli landings (25 April 1915) at V Beach, Gallipoli, during the landing from SS River Clyde, Tisdall heard wounded men on the beach calling for help.^[2] The men were under heavy machine gun fire from entrenched Turkish forces.^[2] He jumped into the water, and pushing a boat in front of him, went to their rescue. He found, however, that he could not manage alone, but managed to enlist the help of first one, and then three more naval personnel.^[2] They made five trips from the ship to the shore and were responsible for rescuing several wounded men under heavy and accurate fire, until darkness forced them to stop.^[2][4]

He was mortally wounded by a sniper during the Second Battle of Krithia at Achi Baba on 6 May 1915, and was buried where he fell, but today has no known grave.^[2][3][5]

References

1. Snelling, Stephen (23 February 1995). Gallipoli (VCs of the First World War) (First ed.). Sutton Publishing Ltd. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7509-0566-4.
2. Arthur, Max (2004). "The First World War/1915". Symbol of Courage: A Complete History of the Victoria Cross (First ed.). London: Sidgwick & jackson. p. 221. ISBN 0-283-07351-9.
3. Derringer, Michael (2006). "Cambridge VCs" (PDF). Cambridge Life. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
4. "No. 29530". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 March 1916. pp. 3515–3516.
5. "Casualty Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 25 February 2011.

Bibliography

• Snelling, Stephen (2012) [1995]. Gallipoli. VCs of the First World War. The History Press. ISBN 978-0752456539.
• VCs of the First World War - The Naval VCs (Stephen Snelling, 2002)

External links

• Burial location of Arthur Tisdall "Turkey"
• News Item "Arthur Tisdall's Victoria Cross sold privately"
• Tisdall Memorial HMS President VC and other decorations still on display at HMS President RNR London HQ (2006)