Arthur Hutt VC

Hi, I'm a relative of Arthur Hutt VC and just wondered if anyone had any information on him or any pictures as I would be very grateful and also think he should deserve his very own piece on this site as part of the fabulous history of Coventry

Hi there and welcome to the forum, Well, you certainly appear to be related to a real local hero! The only information I can find to add about Arthur Hutt is a section that David McGrory has included in his Wharncliff Companion - an A-Z of Coventry. Here's what David has written.... "Arthur Hutt was the first Coventry-born man to win a Victoria Cross. He was born in Earlsdon in 1889 and as a child lived in in Gulson Road and attended Holy Trinity Schools. As an adult he worked for Courtaulds, married and lived at 8 Caludon Road, Stoke. Arthur enlisted in the Royal Warwickshire Territorial Division in 1909 and on the outbreak of the First World War he was sent to France, as were his five brothers. After more than a year at the front, he was discharged and returned home to his job at Courtaulds. But within three months Arthur, now aged 28, returned to the army. Back in France the Warwicks were advancing on Passchendaele. Colonel Barnett recorded what happened next: On October 4, south-east of Poelcapelle, during the attack on Terrier Farm, this man took command of and led forward No. 2 Platoon when all officers and NCOs had become casualties. He was held up by a strong enemy post on his right and immediately he himself ran forward in front of the platoon and shot the German officer and three men in the post, causing between 40 and 50 to surrender. Later realising that he had pushed too far beyond his objective, he personally covered the withdrawal by sniping the enemy, killing some and then carried back a badly wounded man and put him under shelter. He organised and consolidated his mission and learning that some wounded men were lying out and likely to become prisoners of war if left there, in the absence of stretcher bearers, he went out in front and carried four wounded men under heavy fire. He held his post until relieved on the 7/8 Oct. For his outstanding bravery Arthur Hutt was awarded the nations highest honour, the Victoria Cross. On 12 January 1918 Arthur came home to a hero's welcome in Coventry: he was met at the station and given a civic reception at the Council House, accompanied by his wife and father. In the evening a reception was given at the Drill Hall and at the end of it Arthur Hutt said: 'All I did was my duty to my King and country.' He was demobbed in 1919 and returned home to his wife and new daughter and his job at Courtaulds. In 1959 Arthur Hutt died at his nephew's home in Sewell Highway and was cremated at Canley Crematorium with full military honours. A year later a cornish granite memorial was erected to him in the Memorial Park. The Lord Mayor Alderman Fennell said at the service, 'This is the proudest moment of my Lord Mayoralty - to have the honour of unveiling this memorial to our fellow citizen, Arthur Hutt, the only citizen of Coventry ever to have been awarded the greatest honour for bravery and heroism when fighting for his country'." I hope I haven't made any serious typing errors! And a bit naughty of me to copy out so much from a book maybe - but I'm sure the author won't mind if you were to now go and purchase a copy!!! I hope you've found it useful anyway. Rob

The Times Tuesday, 12 February 1918 - Coventry's Tank Bank The Coventry Tank Bank was opened yesterday by the Mayor, who was accompanied by the Mayoress Lord and Lady Aylesford, Lord Leigh and a large number of representatives of commercial and Labour interests. Before the Tank arrived the local bonds subscription amounted to over £1,000,000 and the new announcement after yesterday's ceremony included the contributions of Courtaulds (Limited) £100,000; the Mayor £5,000; Lord Aylesford £3,000; Lady Aylesford £1,000,000; and Lord Leigh £1,000. Corporal Hutt, the Coventry man who recently received the VC appeared on the Tank and handed a cheque for the citizens gift of £1,000 made in the recognition to his bravery, to the Tank bank. Post copied from topic Coventry Tank Week 1914-18 on film on 2nd Aug 2017 12:09 pm

Hi, this is a photo of my uncle's uncle (Arthur Hutt, Corporal) He lived at Caludon Road who was the only man in Coventry to win the VC, makes me smile when I see it to know what he done to save some of his men, well done mate - has any one got anything on Arthur like photos or stories, hope you can help sorry it stands for Victoria Cross Note from TonyS: I've attached your image for you.

Hello what does VC stand for?

There were at least two others from Coventry that I know of who won the Victoria Cross in WW1: Private Henry Tandey and Private William Beesley.

A..Thank you dutchman. The Victoria Cross, that is a medal?

Yes, it's the highest award for valour "in the face of the enemy".

That was a fascinating read dutchman thank you very much. What a man he must have been, the bravery that people had back then is just amazing.

WOW, what a fantastic photo - you must feel very proud!

Hi Nathan, I think you work with my mother at M&S now? I know she has mentioned that you have discussed our 'famous' ancestor. I do have some further information including the family bible which Arthur is listed in along with his parents and siblngs, that is where is started and my grandfather (Arthur's nephew) has kept it up to date since. The great mystery of course is - Where is the medal nowadays???? Leanne

The Royal Warwickshire Regiment Museum entry shows this.... Corporal Arthur HUTT 7th Bn, Royal Warwickshire Regiment :: Victoria Cross :: 1914 - 15 Star :: British War Medal ( 1914-20 ) :: Victory Medal ( 1914-19 ) :: King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 ) :: Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 ) Are his other medals held by the family? The website states that medal information is not publicly available.

Hi, I'm a relative of Arthur Hutt and my family are very proud of what he did to serve the country. For ages we have been looking for the medal, just to check it is safe. We have asked as much of the family as we could and haven't been successful but are extremely pleased for the monument been placed in the War Memorial Park, Coventry. It would mean so much for my family if we could find out more about the medal, So if anyone has discovered where the medal has gone or anymore information about this could you please private message me or write on here, thank you.

Hi, I don't know if this will help. However, when I worked for the Council Building Services there was a chap called Lawrence Hutt (known as Loz) working as a glazier who was very proud of the fact that he was related to Arthur Hutt (rightly so too). This was back in 2006 so things may be well different by now or you might already know him anyway.

Hi GVB, that chap you was talking to is my cousin, we all call him Nutty Loz. Arthur Hutt was Loz dad's uncle