Heres a brave man we don't know too much about !! Winston Churchill Millington was born in Barbados in 1893. In 1897 he moved to Trinidad with his father, who was a teacher. In 1911 Winston started working at a secondary school in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad. He was one of the first to volunteer for B Company in Trinidad. In December 1916 they sailed from England to Alexandria, in Egypt, on their way to fight in the Palestine Campaign. The Palestine Campaign was far away from the main conflicts of the First World War in Europe. However, the battle here against the Turks was vicious because, according to Winston Millington, “the Turks were ferocious fighters.” It was not long before the machine-gun crews of the West Indian regiment were tested out. The commanding officer of 162 Machine-gun Company praised the work of the West Indian gunners - "The men (in the machine-gun section) worked very well ... showing keen interest in their work, cheerfulness, coolness under fire and the ability to carry it out under difficulties." In these battles a number of soldiers were picked out for their bravery. One of them was Winston Millington. When the Turks attacked, the rest of his gun crew were killed by enemy fire, but Winston continued to fire his gun for several minutes. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his gallantry and coolness in action. http://www.mgtrust.org/ww1.htm http://www.islingtonschoolsemas.net/PDF/ethnic min.ww1 book.pdf
He died in 1991: http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/teacher/history/served/stories/winston.htm ..........and this is allegedly Winston recieving his DCM: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27529953@N04/3064798025/
That's great Phil ... thank you ! Apparently theres a class of school kids looking for him too ... ( when I Googled !! ) and they haven't been able to find out about how he got the name "Winston Churchill " ..... when the other Winston Churchill was only 19 when our man was born and hadn't done anything yet !! I did find this poem though ... that seems to go along with the shirtless photo of him ... interesting huh ? Stripped to the waist and sweated chest, Midday's reprieve much needed rest We dug and hauled and lifted high, From trenches deep toward the sky Non-fighting troops and yet we die From a poem called 'Black Soldier's Lament'.
I love that badge with the sailing ship ... I found this one too ... ( but it's not as personal as yours Scrim !! )
