Frederick George Dancox

Frederick George Dancox VC
Born	1879 Worcester, England
Died	30 November 1917(1917-11-30) (aged 37–38) near Masnieres, France
Buried	No known grave
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Rank	Private
Unit	Worcestershire Regiment
Battles / wars	World War I Western Front Battle of Passchendaele Battle of Poelcappelle Battle of Cambrai  †
Awards	Victoria Cross

Private Frederick George Dancox VC (1878 – 30 November 1917) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Military career

Dancox was about 38 years old, and a private in the 4th Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment, and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his deeds on 9 October 1917 at the Boesinghe sector, Belgium.

Citation

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack. After the first objective had been captured and consolidation had been started, work was considerably hampered, and numerous casualties were caused, by an enemy machine gun firing from a concrete emplacement situated on the edge of our protective barrage. Pte. Dancox was one of a party of about ten men detailed as moppers-up. Owing to the position of the machine gun emplacement, it was extremely difficult to work round a flank. However, this man with great gallantry worked his way round through the barrage and entered the "Pillbox" from the rear, threatening the garrison with a Mills bomb. Shortly afterwards he reappeared with a machine gun under his arm, followed by about 40 enemy. The machine gun was brought back to our position by Pte. Dancox, and he kept it in action all day. By his resolution, absolute disregard of danger and cheerful disposition, the morale of his comrades was maintained at a very high standard under extremely trying circumstances.

— The London Gazette, 23 November 1917

Dancox was killed in action near Masnieres, France, on 30 November 1917 and is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Worcestershire Regiment Museum in the Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, Worcester.

References

• Worcestershire Council
• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• Snelling, Stephen (2012) [1998]. Passchendaele 1917. VCs of the First World War. The History Press. ISBN 978-0752476667.