209535 Maj. Herbert Wallace LePatourel VC.British Army 2nd Battalion Royal Hampshire Regiment Herbert Wallace Le Patourel was born in Guernsey and took up a career in banking. He joined the Hampshire Regiment at Lieutenant in 1938, and was promoted to Captain in 1941. Le Patourel was 26 years old, and a temporary major in the 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment when he was awarded the VC.
"On 3 December 1942 at Tebourba, Tunisia, enemy forces were holding high ground and resisting all efforts in dislodge them. Major Le Patourel called for four volunteers to go with him and they attacked and silenced several of the machine-gun posts. When all his men became casualties, he went on alone to engage the enemy, using his pistol and hurling hand grenades."
Initial reports from other wounded soldiers suggested that he had been killed in action, and he was awarded the VC posthumously. He was later discovered to have survived, been taken prisoner and was in hospital in Italy. He was repatriated in 1943, and awarded his VC at a ceremony in Cairo.
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