To commemorate 100 years since the end of World War I we hope to reunite all 18 Victoria Crosses wh - Tuesday 10 July 2018

By Heugh Battery

To commemorate 100 years since the end of World War I we hope to reunite all 18 Victoria Crosses which were awarded to the Lancashire Fusiliers in a special exhibition entitled 18 for 18. We have located 17 of the 18 medals to feature in the exhibition however we are still missing the 18th medal. The missing medal belonged to Lieutenant Colonel Bertram BestDunkley (3rd August 1890 5th August 1917).BestDunkley was a temporary lieutenantcolonel in the 25th Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers. During the First World War on 31 July 1917 at Wieltje, Belgium, he was in command of his battalion when they came under attack with machine gun fire at close range. Lt.Col. BestDunkley dashed forward, rallied his leading waves, and personally led them to the assault of these positions, which, despite heavy losses, were carried. He was awarded the VC for bravery and devotion to duty but sadly later died from his wounds a few days later. The medals last known whereabouts was in Canada in 1983 where it was believed to be owned by Jack Stenabaugh (Huntsville, Ontario). He offered it for auction to a number of auction houses but it was never actually put forward so the medal is still believed to be in private ownership. We need your help to find the medal please like and share as many times as possible so we stand a chance of finding it. The full story can be found on our website httpswww.fusiliermuseum.compress Anyone with any information please contact Sarah Stevenson on 0161 763 8962 or email sarah.stevenson@fusiliermuseum.com

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