See October’s Britain at War for Lord Ashcroft’s new “hero of the month” article

  • 1 October, 2015
  • Bravery
  • Britain at War
  • Medals

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC has had his latest “hero of the month” article published in Britain at War, the country’s best-selling military history monthly magazine.

The October edition of the magazine has a two-page write-up on the life and bravery of Sergeant Oliver Brooks, who was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for courage during the Great War.

Brooks, who was born in Paulton, near Midsomer Norton, Somerset, served with the 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards and on October 8 1915 he was involved in fighting in northern France as part of the Battle of Loos.

When aged 26, he showed outstanding bravery to help re-take a trench in the British line that had been captured by the enemy. Brooks, aided by six bombers, spent three quarters of an hour of fierce fighting under a hail of bombs in order to regain the crucial position. His VC was announced on October 28 and he went on to survive the war.

Lord Ashcroft’s articles for Britain at War over the past three years have been largely based on excerpts from four of his books on gallantry: Victoria Cross Heroes, Special Forces Heroes, George Cross Heroes and Heroes of the Skies. His fifth bravery book, Special Ops Heroes, was published in November 2014.

For the foreseeable future, Lord Ashcroft’s “hero of the month” articles will concentrate on men who were awarded the VC during the First World War.

Lord Ashcroft is a military historian who has lectured extensively on courage and his various medal collections.

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