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{{Short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox military person
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| honorific_suffix = [[Victoria Cross|VC]]
| honorific_suffix = [[Victoria Cross|VC]]
| image = Edward Donald Bellew VC.jpg
| image = Edward Donald Bellew VC.jpg
| caption = Edward Bellow during WWI.
| caption = Edward Bellew during the First World War
| birth_date = 28 October 1882
| birth_date = 28 October 1882
| death_date = 1 February 1961
| death_date = 1 February 1961
| birth_place = [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British Raj]]
| birth_place = [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British Raj]]
| death_place = [[Kamloops, British Columbia|Kamloops]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]]
| death_place = [[Kamloops, British Columbia]], Canada
| placeofburial = [[Hillside Cemetery]], [[Kamloops, British Columbia|Kamloops]]
| placeofburial = [[Hillside Cemetery (Kamloops)|Hillside Cemetery]], Kamloops
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| placeofburial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
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| allegiance = {{UK}}<br>[[File:Flag of Canada (1868–1921).svg|25px]] [[Canada|Dominion of Canada]]
| allegiance = {{UK}}<br>[[File:Flag of Canada (1868–1921).svg|25px]] [[Canada|Dominion of Canada]]
| branch = [[File:Flag of the British Army (1938-present).png|22px]] [[British Army]]
| branch = [[File:Flag of the British Army (1938-present).png|22px]] [[British Army]]
*[[British Expeditionary Force]]
*[[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]]
[[Permanent Active Militia|Canadian Militia]]
[[Permanent Active Militia|Canadian Militia]]
*[[Canadian Expeditionary Force]]
*[[Canadian Expeditionary Force]]
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| commands =
| commands =
| battles = [[World War I]]
| battles = [[World War I]]
*[[Western Front]]
*[[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]
**[[Second Battle of Ypres]] {{POW}}
**[[Second Battle of Ypres]] {{POW}}
| battles_label =
| battles_label =
| awards = [[File:Victoria Cross (UK) ribbon.png|30px]] [[Victoria Cross]]
| awards = [[File:UK Victoria Cross ribbon bar.svg|30px]] [[Victoria Cross]]
| alma_mater = [[Clifton College]]<br>[[Royal Military College]]
| alma_mater = [[Clifton College]]<br>[[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
| relations = [[Robert Bellew Adams]] VC (second cousin)
| relations = [[Robert Bellew Adams]] VC (second cousin)
| laterwork =
| laterwork =
| signature =
| signature =
}}
}}
'''Edward Donald Bellew''', {{post-nominals|VC}} (28 October 1882 – 1 February 1961,<ref>http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/gal/vcg-gcv/bio/bellew-ed-eng.asp</ref> [[Kamloops, British Columbia]]), Captain of the 7th Bn British Columbia Regiment, CEF was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.
'''Edward Donald Bellew''', {{post-nominals|VC}} (28 October 1882 – 1 February 1961,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/gal/vcg-gcv/bio/bellew-ed-eng.asp|title = Victoria Cross Bios - Edward Donald Bellew|date = 14 April 2009}}</ref> [[Kamloops, British Columbia]]), Captain of the 7th Bn British Columbia Regiment, CEF was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.


==Early life==
==Early life==
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Bellew was 32 years old, and a [[lieutenant]] in the 7th (1st British Columbia) Battalion, [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]], when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
Bellew was 32 years old, and a [[lieutenant]] in the 7th (1st British Columbia) Battalion, [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]], when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.


During the [[Second Battle of Ypres]], a mass attack on the Canadian line developed on the morning of Saturday 24 April 1915 near Keerselaere, [[Belgium]]. The Canadians were suffering heavy casualties. The advance of the enemy was temporarily stayed by Lieutenant Bellew, the battalion machine-gun officer, who had two guns in action on high ground when the enemy's attack broke in full force. The reinforcements sent forward having been destroyed, and with the enemy less than {{convert|100|yd}} away and no further assistance in sight, Bellew and a Sergeant Peerless decided to fight it out. The sergeant was killed and Bellew wounded. Nevertheless, he maintained his fire until his ammunition failed, when he seized a rifle, smashed his machine-gun and, fighting to the last, was taken prisoner.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=31340|date=13 May 1919 |page=6083|supp=y}}</ref>
During the [[Second Battle of Ypres]], a mass attack on the Canadian line developed on the morning of Saturday 24 April 1915 near Keerselaere, [[Belgium]]. The Canadians were suffering heavy casualties. The advance of the enemy was temporarily stayed by Lieutenant Bellew, the battalion machine-gun officer, who had two guns in action on high ground when the enemy's attack broke in full force. The reinforcements sent forward having been destroyed, and with the enemy less than {{convert|100|yd}} away and no further assistance in sight, Bellew and a Sergeant Peerless decided to fight it out. The sergeant was killed and Bellew wounded. Nevertheless, he maintained his fire until his ammunition failed, when he seized a rifle, smashed his machine-gun and, fighting to the last, was taken prisoner.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=31340|date=13 May 1919 |page=6083}}</ref>


==Later life==
==Later life==
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* [[List of Canadian Victoria Cross recipients]]
* [[List of Canadian Victoria Cross recipients]]


== Further reading ==
==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last1=Batchelor|first1=Peter|last2=Matson|first2=Christopher|title=The Western Front 1915|series=[[VCs of the First World War]]|year=2011|publisher=[[The History Press]]|isbn=978-0-7524-6057-4}}
*[[Monuments to Courage]] (David Harvey, 1999)
*[[The Register of the Victoria Cross]] (This England, 1997)
*[[VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915]] (Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999)
*"On the Battlefields", From the archives of "Maclean's Magazine", Edited by Michael Benedict, Penguin Canada, 2002 {{ISBN|0-14-301341-6}}, page 96
*"On the Battlefields", From the archives of "Maclean's Magazine", Edited by Michael Benedict, Penguin Canada, 2002 {{ISBN|0-14-301341-6}}, page 96


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellew, Edward Donald}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellew, Edward}}
⚫
[[Category:Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:1882 births]]
[[Category:1882 births]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
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[[Category:World War I prisoners of war held by Germany]]
[[Category:World War I prisoners of war held by Germany]]
[[Category:Canadian Expeditionary Force officers]]
[[Category:Canadian Expeditionary Force officers]]
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]
[[Category:British people in colonial India]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]
⚫
[[Category:Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross]]

Latest revision as of 21:18, 26 May 2024

Captain

Edward Bellew

VC
Edward Bellew during the First World War
Birth nameEdward Donald Bellew
Born28 October 1882
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British Raj
Died1 February 1961
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Buried
Hillside Cemetery, Kamloops
Allegiance United Kingdom
Dominion of Canada
Service / branch British Army

Canadian Militia

Years of service1901–1903 (UK)
1914–1919 (Canada)
Rank Captain
UnitRoyal Irish Regiment
7th (1st British Columbia) Battalion
Battles / warsWorld War I
Awards Victoria Cross
Alma materClifton College
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
RelationsRobert Bellew Adams VC (second cousin)

Edward Donald Bellew, VC (28 October 1882 – 1 February 1961,[1] Kamloops, British Columbia), Captain of the 7th Bn British Columbia Regiment, CEF was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life

[edit]

Bellew was born in Bombay, India, on 28 October 1882. He began his education at Blundell's School, Devon, England, but left to attend Clifton College (1897–1900),[2] from where he was admitted to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He joined the Royal Irish Regiment in 1901. He emigrated to Canada in 1903 and worked as a construction engineer. In September 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted in the British Columbia Regiment.

Action

[edit]

Bellew was 32 years old, and a lieutenant in the 7th (1st British Columbia) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

During the Second Battle of Ypres, a mass attack on the Canadian line developed on the morning of Saturday 24 April 1915 near Keerselaere, Belgium. The Canadians were suffering heavy casualties. The advance of the enemy was temporarily stayed by Lieutenant Bellew, the battalion machine-gun officer, who had two guns in action on high ground when the enemy's attack broke in full force. The reinforcements sent forward having been destroyed, and with the enemy less than 100 yards (91 m) away and no further assistance in sight, Bellew and a Sergeant Peerless decided to fight it out. The sergeant was killed and Bellew wounded. Nevertheless, he maintained his fire until his ammunition failed, when he seized a rifle, smashed his machine-gun and, fighting to the last, was taken prisoner.[3]

Later life

[edit]

Bellew remained a prisoner of war (latterly in Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp) until 1919, and achieved the rank of Captain. He subsequently returned to Canada and became a dredging inspector. He died in 1961 and is buried at Hillside Cemetery, Kamloops, British Columbia.[4]

Family

[edit]

Bellew was the second cousin of Robert Bellew Adams, VC.

Loss of medal

[edit]

Bellew's Victoria Cross is believed to have been stolen from the Royal Canadian Military Institute, Toronto, between January 1975 and 22 July 1977. It has never been recovered.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Victoria Cross Bios - Edward Donald Bellew". 14 April 2009.
  2. ^ "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p144: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948
  3. ^ "No. 31340". The London Gazette. 13 May 1919. p. 6083.
  4. ^ Known Graves of recipients of the Victoria Cross in British Columbia
  5. ^ Victoria Crosses reported stolen
[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
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