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Wilf Wood brown plaque

Commemorative plaque
Wilf Wood brown plaque
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This brown commemorative plaque records: Private Wilf Wood V.C. Remembering the life of railwayman Wilf Wood who was awarded the Victoria Cross for an act of most conspicuous bravery and initiative on 28th October 1918 near Casa Van in Italy. A unit on the right flank having been held up by hostile machine gunners and snipers, Private Wood worked forward with his Lewis gun, enfiladed the enemy machine gun nest and cause 140 to surrender. The advance continued until a hidden machine gun opened fire at point blank range. Without a moment's hesitation, Private Wood charged, firing his Lewis gun from the hip, and enfiladed a ditch from which a further 160 men and 3 officers duly surrendered. A cleaner at Stockport locomotive depot, Wilf survived the Great War and spent his entire working life on the railways. He had the honour of a steam locomotive being named after him and enjoyed a long retirement before his death in January 1982 at the age of 84.
Private Wilf Wood was awarded the Victoria Cross for his exceptional bravery during World War I, where he single-handedly caused over 300 enemy soldiers to surrender. After surviving the war, Wood worked as a cleaner at Stockport locomotive depot and had the honor of having a steam locomotive named after him.

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Photo: Gerald England on Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0