News / Society
Bristol war hero remembered 100 years on
One hundred years on, a Bristol born war-hero has been honoured in a quiet and dignified ceremony.
Thomas Rendle, who was born and brought up in Bedminster, was awarded a Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for valour in the face of the enemy, during the First World War.
Today, a commerative stone was unvield in the churchyard of St John’s in Bedminster by the Lord Mayor of Bristol, Alastair Watson and Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Col Andrew Flint.
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Thomas was a sergeant with the 1st Battalion, The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. He was the regiment’s only recipient of the VC during the First World War.
He was a bandsman and stretcher-bearer. On 20 November 1914 near Wulverghem in Belgium, German artillery fire had collapsed a trench and buried a number of men including an injured 2nd Lt Colebrooke. Rendle, who had been working throughout the day to free casualties, crawled across the blown-in trench under heavy fire and, with Lt Colebrooke on his back, scraped away at the earth to get him back to safety.
Honouring Heroes
The commemoration is part of a nationwide campaign to honour First World War VC recipients. Rendle is one of eight soldiers in the city who have been awarded the Victoria Cross and are being recognised with a commemorative stone.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is providing 469 commemorative paving stones to local authorities, 145 to the National Arboretum and 35 to the Republic of Ireland to mark the bravery of people awarded the VC during the First World War.
The stone being laid in the honour of Thomas Rendle is the second of eight that will be laid in Bristol over the next five years, each marking the anniversary of the action of VC holders closely connected to the city.
Lord Mayor of Bristol, Alastair Watson said: “We will forever be in the debt of the people who served and lived through the First World War and it is fitting that we can recognise the selfless acts of bravery displayed by those Bristolians who were awarded the Victoria Cross 100 years on. We can all take immense pride in their actions.”
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