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Hubert James Willey, DCM & Bar (11 July 1897 – 6 September 1948) was twice awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, then the second highest British gallantry award, for his service on the Western Front, during the First World War. Born in Dublin, the second son of James Willey and Emily Maud Bannister, he joined the Rifle Brigade soon after the outbreak of war. Willey was first awarded the DCM for an action in 1915, just over a month after his eighteenth birthday. He was serving with 9th Battalion The Rifle Brigade (part of 14th (Light) Division) in the Ypres Salient. As part of the British offensive at Loos a number of subsidiary attacks were organised. The 14th and 3rd Divisions were ordered to attack the strong German positions at Bellewaarde Farm, near Hooge, that overlooked the British line. These positions were held by several battalions of the ''Königlich Wörttembergisches Reserve-Infantrie-Regiment Nr 248''.〔Das Württembergische Reserve-Inf.-Regiment Nr.248 im Weltkrieg 1914-1918, Reinhardt E. Generalleutnant, Belser, Stuttgart 1924〕〔 The Rifle Brigade's regimental history describes the attack as a 'costly fiasco'.〔History of the Rifle Brigade in the War of 1914-1918 - Vol 1, Berkeley R, The Rifle Brigade Club, London 1927〕 Some battalions were hardly able to advance at all, others including 9/RB, ended up beyond their objectives. The battalion was then in a highly exposed and unsupported position, taking very heavy casualties, eventually losing all but four officers and one hundred and forty men.〔 In his own account of the action, the commanding officer, Lt Col Villiers-Stuart,〔 gave the number of casualties as 1,116 of all ranks〔Villiers-Stuart Goes To War, Ed Robert Maxwell, Pentland Press, Edinburgh 1990〕 - a casualty rate of in excess of 85%. Col Villiers-Stuart's diary relates:
Despite this, 3 DCMs were in fact awarded to 9/RB. The recipients were Willey together with Riflemen H. Hill and C.G. Roberts.〔 The citation published in the London Gazette of 16 November 1915 reads:〔Supplement to the London Gazette 16 November 1915〕〔〔The Times, London 17 November 1915〕
Such actions, including Willey's, were widely reported in the British press at the time as examples of how men in junior ranks had exercised initiative and leadership after their units have suffered high casualties amongst their officers - for example an article entitled ''Gallant Deeds Rewarded - Leaders in the Ranks'' published by ''The Buckingham Advertiser and North Bucks Free Press'' in November 1915. Two years later Willey was still serving with the 9th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade near Ypres. During the Third Battle of Ypres the 14th Division was ordered to attack German positions in two woods (known to the British Army as Glencorse Wood and Inverness Copse) on either side of the Ypres - Menin road, on 22 August 1917. Initially, the attack achieved most of its objectives but the attacking troops were then the subject of strong German counter-attacks.〔History of the Rifle Brigade in the War of 1914-1918 - Vol 2, Seymour W W, The Rifle Brigade Club, London 1936〕 Held in reserve, 9/RB was then ordered, on 24 August, to relieve 8th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps and reinforce 6th Battalion Somerset Light Infantry. In his subsequent report, the commanding officer of 9/RB, Lt Col F.A.U. Pickering DSO related:
Willey was awarded a bar to his DCM for this action, gazetted 22 October 1917〔History of the Rifle Brigade in the War of 1914-1918 - Appendix, Eastwood T R & Parkyn H G, The Rifle Brigade Club, London 1936〕〔Supplement to the London Gazette 22 October 1917〕〔Supplement to the London Gazette 16 January 1918〕
Willey was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade in May 1918,〔Supplement to the London Gazette 8 May 1918〕 and posted to the 13th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade (111th Brigade, 37th Division). In late August 1918 the battalion took part in the attack on Ablainzevelle and Favreuil, part of the Second Battle of Bapaume. Between 21 and 26 August, the brigade advanced some 8 miles, but during this time Willey was wounded - the overall battalion casualties in this action were 50 killed and 259 wounded.〔 Willey was promoted to Lieutenant in 1919〔Supplement to the London Gazette 3 December 1919〕 and again to A/Captain in 1920, leaving the Army that year.〔Supplement to the London Gazette 26 April 1920〕 Later in 1920 he joined the Metropolitan Police in London. On 9 December 1922 he married Lillian May Brocklebank and together they had a daughter and a son. During much of the 1920s and '30s, Willey served as a detective in Special Branch,〔Metropolitan Police Orders 18 Sept 1923〕 earning several commendations for arrests in firearms and other cases. In 1931 Willey gave evidence at the trial of William Shepherd who was subsequently convicted with George Allison of inciting mutiny in the Fleet at Portsmouth in the wake of the Invergordon Mutiny. During the Second World War Willey was awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct for his actions during the London Blitz.〔Supplement to the London Gazette 28 January 1941〕〔The Metropolitan Police at War, Howgrave-Graham H. M., His Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1947〕 Willey died in 1948, while still serving with the Metropolitan Police, commanding the Wimbledon sub-division of V Division, in the rank of Sub-Divisional Inspector (a now abolished rank equivalent to the modern Superintendent). He was survived by his wife and children. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hubert James Willey」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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