Throughout the First World War, the many announcements of British and Commonwealth gallantry awards appeared in the various issues of The London Gazette. As part of our major monthly series covering the period of the Great War commemorations, we examine some of the actions involved and summarise all of the awards announced in January 1917.
The afternoon of 2 June 1917 saw King George V undertake one of the largest investiture ceremonies ever seen in Hyde Park in London. As RFC fighters patrolled overhead in case of a surprise German air raid, the King took some two hours to present a total of 351 awards. This number included eleven Victoria Crosses, four of them posthumously. In all, 313 servicemen received their awards personally, whilst twenty-six were received by relatives. There were twelve awards of the Royal Red Cross to nurses. The sixteenth individual to stand
