Subject

Soldier. Born Francis John William Harvey in Upper Sydenham. Kent. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the height of the Battle of Jutland. Although wounded by shellfire, he ordered the magazine on the battlecruiser Lion to be flooded. This action prevented the tons of cordite stored there from detonating in an explosion that would have destroyed the vessel and all aboard her. Although he died from his injuries seconds later, his final act may have saved over a thousand lives.