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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment
Mjr. Charles Allix Lavington Yate VC.
British Army 2nd Btn. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
from:Madeley, Shropshire
(d.19th Sep 1914)
Charles Yate was born in Madeley, Shropshire on 14th March 1872, and graduated from the Royal Military College Sandhurst in 1892, thence posted to 2 KOYLI based in Bombay (Mumbai), India.At the outbreak of WW1 Major Yate was 42 years old, and a company commander in the 2nd Battalion KOYLI, and was amongst the first to land in France. During the retreat from Mons, 2 KOYLI deployed two companies to act as rearguard whilst the remainder of the battalion fell back in good order. They held the line against fierce attacks by the enemy throughout the day until their ammunition was exhausted. By this time, only Major Yate and 19 soldiers remained in action and, no ammunition remaining, he and his men fixed bayonets and charged the enemy. Major Yate V.C. was captured by the Germans and, because of repeated attempts to escape from his captors, was sent to Torgau prison in Lower Saxony.
He broke out of Torgau but was found by factory hands on their way to work who saw through his disguise, and although fluent in German, he was unable to convince them of his identity. Dressed in civilian clothes, Major Yate knew that he would be probably executed as a spy, and before the workers could arrest and subdue him, he cut his own throat and committed suicide rather than be taken.
He is buried in the CWG cemetary, Stahnsdorf, near Potsdam, and his death is marked on the war memorial situated on The Green, Madeley. He left a widow but no children. His V.C. is on display as part of the KOYLI exhibits at Doncaster Museum, South Yorkshire.
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