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."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

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

Private Albert Edward Springham

Private Albert Edward Springham

Albert Edward Springham was born in 1896 in Rotherhithe, London, the fourth of the seven children of Henry Albert Springham (1864-1916) and Arletta Springham née Wright (1865-1936). His birth was r...

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW1
2 memorials
H. Mearing

H. Mearing

Resident of the Central Ward, Hendon who served and died in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
A. Bird

A. Bird

Employed at the Holloway tram garage. Served and was killed in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
T. H. Symonds

T. H. Symonds

Resident of Willesden who volunteered and died in the Anglo Boer War, 1899-1900.

Person, Armed Forces, South Africa

War dead, Other war
1 memorial
Gunner Thomas Sawyer William Robinson

Gunner Thomas Sawyer William Robinson

Thomas Sawyer William Robinson was born on 25 October 1906 the second of the nine children of John Sawyer William Robinson (1882-1948) and Lilian Kate Robinson née Merrick (1884-1951).  His birth w...

Person, Armed Forces, Germany

War dead, WW2
1 memorial