Taken by surprise and pulverised by German artillery, the men of L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, fought one of the bravest actions of the war on September 1, 1914. Amid the fearful carnage, gun after gun was put out of action and their crews blown to smithereens. Yet the dazed survivors refused to give in. Responding to the cry: “Who’s for the guns?”, those who escaped the slaughter braved a storm of fire to man their exposed guns. The man leading the fight back was the unit’s second in command, Captain Edward Kinder Bradbury, a Cheshire-born professional soldier of 14 years’ experience. In all, three guns were brought into action, with Bradbury taking charge of one. Two guns were quickly knocked out, leaving only his still in operation. Not long afterwards, a shell burst close by, severing both his legs as he attempted to bring up ammunition. Insisting on being propped up against a gun, he continued to shout orders while the wounded range-setter, Sgt David Nelson, assisted by Battery Sergeant Major George Dorrell fought on.
Together, they kept the last gun firing until all its ammunition was used up. By then, it was reckoned that they had accounted for three of the enemy’s guns and helped rescue a brigade of cavalry from potential disaster. The legend of L Battery and its courageous stand at Nery was quickly established. Though Bradbury succumbed to his injuries, he and the last remaining survivors of his gun team, Sgt Nelson and BSM Dorrell, were all awarded the Victoria Cross for superlative gallantry “against heavy odds”. Of the three, only Dorrell, the Paddington-born son of a London cab driver, survived the war. His medals, together with those of Bradbury and Nelson, were later exhibited at the Imperial War Museum, where the gun they served so faithfully was displayed in honour of one of the army’s most notable actions during the retreat from Mons.
Stephen Snelling is the author of three books in The History Press series, VCs of the First World War, a biographical survey of the men awarded the country’s highest award for bravery in every theatre of war on land, sea and in the air.