Harefield - Victoria Cross Recipients

Victoria Cross Recipients

The Victoria Cross or VC is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. It is remarkable that a village the size of Harefield is associated with three VC recipients. Two booklets in the Reference section of Harefield library give details of the three recipients of the award.

  • Lieutenant-General Gerald Goodlake VC (1832-1890), who served with the Coldstream Guards in the Crimean War, is buried in St Mary's parish churchyard.
  • Private Cecil John Kinross VC (1896-1957), who distinguished himself at Passchendaele in World War I, was born in Harefield; he moved with his family in 1912 to Lougheed, Alberta.
  • Sergeant Robert Edward Ryder VC (1895-1978), who served in World War I in the Middlesex Regiment, was born and is buried in Harefield. A blue plaque on The Old Workhouse marks his birthplace.

A gold plaque in the Royal British Legion Hall honours the exceptional bravery of both Goodlake VC and Ryder VC. In 2011, Hillingdon Council erected a blue plaque in honour of the courage of Kinross VC at the place of his birth on the anniversary of his birthday, 17 February.

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