John William Harper

John William Harper
Born	(1916-08-06)6 August 1916 Hatfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	29 September 1944(1944-09-29) (aged 28) Merksplas, Belgium
Buried	Leopoldsburg War Cemetery, Belgium 51°6′44.17″N 5°16′6.47″E
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1939–1944
Rank	Corporal
Service number	4751678
Unit	York and Lancaster Regiment
Battles / wars	World War II Western Front Western Allied invasion of Belgium  †
Awards	Victoria Cross

Corporal John William Harper VC (6 August 1916 – 29 September 1944) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Birth

John William Harper was born in Hatfield, Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire on 6 August 1916 to George Ernest Harper and his wife, Florence Parkin.

Details

Harper was 28 years old, and a corporal in the 4th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, British Army during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 29 September 1944 during an assault on the Depot de Mendicite, Merksplas, Belgium, Corporal Harper led his section across 300 yards of completely exposed ground, with utter disregard for the hail of mortar bombs and small arms fire from the enemy. He was killed in the action, but the subsequent capture of the position was largely due to his self-sacrifice.

War Office, 2nd January, 1943.

The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the posthumous award of the VICTORIA CROSS to: —

No. 4751678 Corporal John William Harper, The York and Lancaster Regiment (Doncaster).

In North-West Europe, on 29th September, 1944, the Hallamshire Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment attacked the Depot de Mendicite, a natural defensive position surrounded by an earthen wall, and then a dyke, strongly held by the enemy. Corporal Harper was commanding . the leading section in the assault. The enemy were well dug in and had a perfect field of fire across 300 yards of completely flat and exposed country. With superb disregard for the hail of mortar bombs and small arms fire which the enemy brought to bear on this open ground, Corporal Harper led his section straight up to the wall and killed or captured the enemy holding the near side. During this operation the platoon commander was seriously wounded and Corporal Harper took over control of the platoon. As the enemy on the far side of the wall were now throwing grenades over the top, Corporal Harper climbed over the wall alone, throwing grenades, and in the face of heavy, close range small arms fire, personally routed the Germans directly opposing him. He took four prisoners and shot several of the remainder of the enemy as they fled. Still completely ignoring the heavy spandau and mortar fire, which was sweeping the area, once again he crossed the wall alone to find out whether it was possible for his platoon to wade the dyke which lay beyond. He found the dyke too deep and wide to cross, and once again he came back over the wall and received orders to try and establish his platoon on the enemy side of it. For the third time he climbed over alone, found some empty German weapon pits, and providing the covering fire urged and encouraged his section to scale the wall and dash for cover. By this action he was able to bring down sufficient covering fire *to enable the rest of the company to cross the open ground and surmount the wall for the loss of only one man. Corporal Harper then left his platoon in charge of his senior section commander and walked alone along the banks of the dyke, in the face of heavy spandau fire, to find a crossing place. Eventually he made contact with the battalion attacking on his right, and found that they had located a ford. Back he came across the open ground, and, whilst

directing his company commander to the ford, he was struck by a bullet which fatally wounded him and he died on the bank of the dyke. The success of the battalion in driving the enemy from the wall and back across the dyke must be largely ascribed to the superb self sacrifice and inspiring gallantry of Corporal Harper. His magnificent courage, fearlessness and devotion to duty throughout the battle set a splendid example to his men and had a decisive effect on the course of the operations

The medal

His Victoria Cross is held at The York & Lancaster Regiment Museum in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.

Memorials

His remains now lie at the War Cemetery at Leopoldsburg, near Limburg, Belgium, Plot No.5, Row B, Grave No.15.51°6′44.17″N 5°16′6.47″E A stained glass window, created by Frans Pelgrims and donated by the town of Merksplas (Belgium) as sign of an everlasting gratitude and respect, depicting Corporal Harper and the area of his final battle are shown in Hatfield St Lawrence Church.

External image
Corporal Harper's name inscribed on the Hatfield Cemetery War Memorial

His name is inscribed on the Hatfield Cemetery War Memorial.

Bibliography

• British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997)
• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• Whitworth, Alan (2012). Yorkshire VCs. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84884-778-1.

External links

External image
Photograph of Corporal Harper's tombstone in the Leopoldsburg War Cemetery

• CWGC entry

• John William Harper at Find a Grave