Person    | Male  Born 14/1/1856  Died 4/7/1915

Frederick Parslow, VC

Categories: Armed Forces, Transport

War dead, WW1 i

Commemorated on a memorial as having died in WW1.

Born Islington. Mercantile marine, Captain of the SS Anglo-Californian. Died in a German submarine attack off the Irish coast. His son, also Frederick, who was on the ship as the second mate, took command and was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Parslow Snr was the first member of the mercantile marine to be awarded the VC in WW1.

Note: 'Mercantile Marine' is the term used until after WW1 for what we now know as the Merchant Navy.

We'd understood that the VC was only awarded to military personnel, and the Merchant Navy is not part of the military. Our colleague, Andrew Behan found enlightenment at the National Army Museum:

"Since the inception of the VC, there have been 14 further Royal Warrants that have changed the original terms and conditions set out for awards. Recognising the bravery of civilian volunteers during the Indian Mutiny (1857-59), an 1858 warrant extended the eligibility of the VC to ‘non-military persons’ serving with the forces. Seven civilians have been awarded the VC: Thomas Kavanagh (1857); William Fraser McDonell (1857); Ross Lowis Mangles of the Bengal Civil Service (1857); George Bell Chicken, a civilian volunteer with the Indian Naval Brigade (1858); the Reverend James Adams of the Bengal Ecclesiastical Department (1879) and Captains Frederick Parslow and Archibald Smith of the Mercantile Marine (1915-17). The latter two recipients were posthumously commissioned into the Royal Naval Reserve to make them eligible for the VC."

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Frederick Parslow, VC

Commemorated ati

Frederick Parslow VC

More information about the VC plaque project at Centenary News. 

Read More

Other Subjects

Sidney Lewis

Sidney Lewis

Soldier. He enlisted in the East Surrey Regiment in August 1915 at the age of twelve, and fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, then aged thirteen. In the 106th Machine Gun Company of the Mach...

Person, Armed Forces, Emergency Services, Austria, France

1 memorial
Lance Corporal Jeffrey Vernon Young

Lance Corporal Jeffrey Vernon Young

Andrew Behan has kindly carried out some research on this soldier: Born Bridgend, Glamorganshire. In early 1979 he married Judith Nash in Ogwr, Mid Glamorgan and they had two children. He died a da...

Person, Armed Forces, Tragedy

1 memorial
Flight Lieutenant Richard Carew Reynell

Flight Lieutenant Richard Carew Reynell

Pilot. Born at Reynella, South Australia. He came to England in 1929 (or 1921, see below) and studied at Oxford. He became a test pilot for Hawker's and in 1940 was attached to 43 Squadron. On the ...

Person, Armed Forces, Australia

1 memorial
Field Marshall Earl Alexander of Tunis

Field Marshall Earl Alexander of Tunis

Military commander. Born London of Anglo-Irish descent. Served in both world wars. A keen artist (painter and sculptor) as well as a excellent sportsman. We note this because these two attributes a...

Person, Armed Forces, Politics & Administration, Canada

1 memorial