VC - World War II

Lieutenant John Hollington Grayburn VC

John Hollington Grayburn, the son of Mr and Mrs L.M.Grayburn, of Chalfont St Giles, was born on the island of Manora, India, on 30th January 1918. He was educated at Sherborne School and joined the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank two or three years before the war. He joined the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on 14th September 1940 and served in the 43rd until 27th June 1943 when, tired of what he regarded as ‘inactivity’, he volunteered for the Parachute Regiment, seeing service in North Africa and Italy before winning a posthumous Victoria Cross at Arnhem, for supreme courage, leadership and devotion to duty.

Lieutenant Grayburn was a platoon commander of the Parachute Battalion which was dropped on 17th September 1944 with the task of seizing and holding the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. His subsequent actions were described as followes in the Regimental Chronicle:‘The north end of the bridge was captured and, early in the night, Lieutenant Grayburn was ordered to assault and capture the southern end with his platoon. He led his platoon on to the bridge and began the attack with the utmost determination, but the platoon was met by a hail of fire from two 20-mm. quick-firing guns and from the machine guns of an armoured car. Almost at once Lieutenant Grayburn was shot through the shoulder. Although there was no cover on the bridge, and in spite of his wound, Lieutenant Grayburn continued to press forward with the greatest dash and bravery until casualties became so heavy that he was ordered to withdraw. He directed the withdrawal from the bridge personally and was himself the last man to come off the embankment into comparative cover.

Later, his platoon was ordered to occupy a house which was vital to the defence of the bridge, and he personally organized the occupation of the house. Throughout the next day and night the enemy made ceaseless attacks on the house using not only infantry with mortars and machine guns but also tanks and self-propelled guns. The house was very exposed and difficult to defend, and the fact that it did not fall to the enemy must be attributed to Lieutenant Grayburn's great courage and inspiring leadership. He constantly exposed himself to the enemy's fire while moving among, and encouraging, his platoon, and seemed completely oblivious to danger.

On 19th September the enemy renewed and intensified his attacks on the house. All attacks were repulsed, due to Lieutenant Grayburn's valour and skill in organizing and encouraging his men, until eventually the house was set on fire and had to be evacuated. He then took command of elements of all arms, including the remainder of his own company, and re-formed them into a fighting force. He spent the night organizing a defensive position to cover the approaches to the bridge.

The next day he extended his defence by a series of fighting patrols which prevented the enemy gaining access to the houses in the vicinity. This forced the enemy to bring up tanks which brought Lieutenant Grayburn's position under such heavy fire that he was forced to withdraw to an area farther north. The enemy now attempted to lay demolition charges under the bridge and the situation was critical. Realizing this, Lieutenant Grayburn organized and led a fighting patrol which drove the enemy off temporarily, and gave time for the fuses to be removed. He was again wounded, this time in the back, but refused to be evacuated.

Finally, an enemy tank, against which Lieutenant Grayburn had no defence, approached so close to his position that it became untenable. He then stood up in full view of the tank and personally directed the withdrawal of his men to the main defensive perimeter to which he had been ordered. He was killed that night. From the evening of 17th September until the night of 20th September Lieutenant Grayburn led his men with supreme gallantry and determination. Although in pain and weakened by his wounds, short of food and without sleep, his courage never flagged. There is no doubt that, had it not been for this officer's inspiring leadership and personal bravery, the Arnhem bridge could never have been held for these three days’.

Lieutenant Grayburn, who had been married in 1942, left one son, born in March 1943. He is commemorated on memorials at Arnhem and in the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank in Gracechurch Street, London.

Captain John Neil Randle VC

Born in Benares in India on 22nd December 1917, John Neil Randle was
educated at the Dragon School and Merton College Oxford. He was awarded the
VC while serving as a captain with the 2nd Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment
at Kohima. His citation records that:

‘On the 4th May, 1944, at Kohima in Assam, a battalion of the Norfolk
Regiment attacked the Japanese. Captain Randle took over command of the
company which was leading the attack. His handling of a difficult situation
was masterly, and although wounded himself he continued to inspire his men
until the company captured its objective. He then brought in all the wounded
men who were lying outside the perimeter. Captain Randle refused to be
evacuated, and despite his wound carried out a personal reconnaissance with
great daring, prior to a further attack on the new enemy positions’.

  At dawn on 6th May Captain Randle led the second, but he ran into heavy
fire from an enemy bunker. Realising that the destruction of the enemy post
was imperative if the operation was to succeed, Captain Randle charged the
Japanese post single-handed and silenced the gun by throwing a grenade
thrown through the firing slit. He then flung his body across the slit so
that the aperture should be completely sealed. ‘The bravery shown by this
officer could not have been surpassed, and by his self-sacrifice he saved
the lives of many of his men and enabled not only his own company but the
whole battalion to gain its objective and win a decisive victory over the
enemy’.