Battle of The Somme and Victoria Cross Award
Robert Quigg was awarded the Victoria Cross for his "Most Conspicuous Bravery" at the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. Prior to the major offensive, his unit had been placed in the French village of Hamel, located on the north bank of the River Ancre. On 1 July, the Mid-Antrim Volunteers were ordered to advanced through the defenses towards the heavily defended German lines. During the advance, they encountered fierce resistance from heavy machine-gun and shell fire. Quigg's platoon made three advances during the day, only to be beaten back on each occasion by German fire. The final evening assault left many hundreds of the 12th Battalion lying dead and wounded in "no man's land". In the early hours of the next morning, it was reported that Lieutenant Harry Macnaughten, the platoon commander was missing; Robert Quigg volunteered to go out into "no man's land" to try and locate him. He went out seven times to search for the missing officer, without success. On each occasion, he came under machine gun fire, but he managed to return with a wounded colleague. It was reported that, on one of his forays, he crawled within yards of the German position in order to rescue a wounded soldier, whom he dragged back on a waterproof groundsheet. After seven hours of trying, exhaustion got the better of him; Robert had to rest from his efforts. The body of Lieutenant Harry Macnaghten was never recovered.
On 8 January 1917, Robert received his Victoria Cross from King George V, at York Cottage, Sandringham. Queen Mary was also in attendance. Upon his return to Bushmills, the people of the town and district turned out in force to welcome him home, including the Macnaghten household. Lady Macnaghten presented him with a gold watch in recognition of his bravery in attempting to find and rescue her son, Lieutenant Harry Macnaghten. Robert reached the rank of sergeant before retiring from the army in 1926 (after he was badly injured in an accident). Later, in 1953, two years before he died, he met the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II. Robert Quigg died on 14 May 1955 at Ballycastle, County Antrim. He was buried in Billy Parish Churchyard, with full military honours. His statue now stands in Bushmills town centre.
The Russians also presented Robert Quigg with the Medal of Order of St. George (Fourth Class), the highest award of the Russian Empire. The First and Second classes were only given on the personal decree of the Emperor. The Third and Fourth classes were only awarded by the approval of the Georgevsky Council, a group of St George Knights. The Third Class was for senior officers, and the Fourth Class was the highest award of the Russian Empire for non-senior officers. His Victoria Cross and Order of St. George (fourth class) are on display at the Royal Ulster Rifles Museum in Belfast.
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