Frank de Pass
Frank Alexander de Pass VC (26 April 1887 – 25 November 1914) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was the first person of the Jewish faith to receive the VC, and was the first officer of the Indian Army to receive the VC.[1][2]
Frank de Pass | |
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 | |
| Birth name | Frank Alexander de Pass |
| Born | 26 April 1887 Kensington, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 25 November 1914 (aged 27) Festubert, France |
| Buried | Bethune Town Cemetery |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1906–1914 † |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | Royal Horse Artillery 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
De Pass was born in Kensington to London merchant Sir Eliot de Pass and Beatrice de Mercado.[3] The family's original surname, Shalom, was translated to the Spanish word for peace and became Paz before being anglicised to Pass when the family first settled in England in the 1660s.[4][1]
He attended Rugby School.[5] By the age of 27, he had attained the rank of Lieutenant in the 34th Prince Albert Victor's Own Poona Horse.
On 24 November 1914, de Pass entered a German sap near Festubert, France and destroyed a traverse in the face of the enemy's bombs. He also rescued, under heavy fire, a wounded man who was lying exposed to enemy bullets in the open. The next day, de Pass was killed in a second attempt to capture the sap, which the enemy had re-occupied. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross on 18 February 1915.[6] His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London.[7]
His sister, Marjorie, married Sir Henry Kitson and had two sons, including Sir Frank Kitson.[8]
In 2014, on the centennial of his death, de Pass was honoured with a memorial paving stone laid outside the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, London.[2] The ceremony was attended by his nephew, Col. Jonny Kitson, and Sgt. Johnson Beharry VC, the first living recipient of the Victoria Cross in more than three decades.[1]
See also
References
- "First World War hero honoured at Whitehall". gov.uk. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- Culbertson, Alix (26 November 2014). "First Jewish Victoria Cross recipient honoured 100 years after being shot dead". Get West London. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- "Obituary: Sir Eliot De Pass – The West India Committee". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 12 July 1937. p. 14.
- Field, Peter Old (2014). Victoria Crosses on the Western Front August 1914- April 1915: Mons to Hill 60. Pen and Sword. p. 184. ISBN 9781783030439. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- De Pass, Frank Alexander, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- "No. 29074". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1916. p. 1700.
- National Army Museum
- Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 2208. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
Publications
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War (Gerald Gliddon, 1994)
