T.W.H VEALE V
Famous Sons and Daughters No 1: Corp. Veale VC
The word hero is bandied about freely these days, to describe footballers, filmstars and the famous.
But in the middle of Dartmouth there is a memorial to a real hero – a son of the town – who risked his life in the incredible rescue of another man from under the guns of the enemy forces in the First World War.
For a story of bravery, heroism, loyalty and perseverance, look no further than the life of Corp Theodore W.H. Veale VC – a man who, as a young soldier in the hideous trenches of World War I, showed unparalleled courage in his determination to save the life of his comrade.
Born in Dartmouth in November 1892, the son of a builder and professional concert pianist, Theodore Veale was the first man in the town to volunteer for the British Army at the outbreak of the First World War. He joined the 8th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment and in the summer of 1916, aged just 22, found himself in the battlefields of the Somme.
The fighting was ferocious, the conditions unimaginable. But on July 20th, Private Veale learned that an officer lay wounded out at the front, and without thought for his own life set out to save him, venturing repeatedly into nomansland to try to bring him to safety.
Private Veale found the casualty lying amidst growing corn within 50 yards of the enemy. He dragged the officer to a shell hole, returned for water and took it out to him. Finding that single-handed he could not carry the officer, he returned for assistance and took out two volunteers. One of the men was killed when carrying the injured man, and under heavy fire the other two men hid him in a shell hole and took cover. At dusk Private Veale went out again with volunteers to bring in the officer from under the noses of an enemy patrol. Private Veale procured a Lewis gun, and with the fire of the gun he covered the party, and the officer was finally carried to safety.
Theodore Veale’s actions earned him the Victoria Cross; “For Most Conspicuous Bravery - The courage and determination displayed was of the highest order.”
But the story does not end there. The man Theodore Veale saved was Lieutenant Eric Savill, who became Sir Eric Savill KCVO CBE MC. After the war, Lt Savill was awarded the Military Cross and joined the Crown Estate at Windsor Great Park, becoming a favourite of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and rising to deputy ranger. Lt Savill was a creative gardener and landscape designer, and in 1932 he began a project which would bring him world acclaim. In a boggy area of the Great Park he started to create the Savill and Valley Gardens, named in his honour by the King following his knighthood in 1951 and still regarded as one of the most important woodland gardens in the world.
The central showpiece of the gardens is Windsor’s national collection of magnolias, and it is a garden of magnolias back in Dartmouth that forever links these two great men and serves as a lasting memorial to bravery and brilliance. Facing the fountain the Royal Avenue Gardens is a garden of white blooming plants, including four specimen magnolias donated by the Savill Garden to mark the connection between Dartmouth and Windsor Great Park. A fifth magnolia grows beside the war memorial.
Corp Veale died in Hertfordshire in 1980. Sir Eric died the same year. But the gardens and two plaques detailing the lives of the two men, unveiled in November 2002 by members of Corp Veale’s family ensure, that in Dartmouth at least, their memory and their historic connection is forever remembered.
First published June 2009 By the Dart
