Frederick Birks
Recipient of the Victoria Cross
Died when: 23 years 51 days (277 months)Star Sign: Virgo
Frederick Birks, VC, MM (16 August 1894 – 21 September 1917) was a Welsh-born Australian First World War soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth forces.
Born in Buckley, Flintshire, Birks served in the Royal Artillery for three years before emigrating to Australia in 1913.After serving as a non-commissioned officer during the landing at Gallipoli and the Battle of the Somme, Birks was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 4 May 1917.
On 20 September, during the Battle of Passchendaele, while advancing in Glencorse Wood, Ypres, Birks, alongside a corporal, forced a garrison to surrender and captured sixteen men in another attack.
His actions were later recognised with the Victoria Cross.The following day, Birks was killed by a shell while attempting to save some of his men.
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