Captain John Fox Russell, who was a member of the 1st Holyhead Scout Troop, was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously on January 11th 1918, after serving as a medical officer during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign.

 

“For most conspicuous bravery displayed in action until he was killed. Captain Russell repeatedly went out to attend the wounded under murderous fire from snipers and machine-guns, and in many cases, when no other means were at hand, carried them in himself, although almost exhausted. He showed the greatest possible degree of valour.”

Cpt. Fox Russell was originally awarded the Military Cross on March 26th 1917 after the First Battle of Gaza, as “He showed the greatest courage and skill in collecting wounded men of all regiments and dressing them under continuous shell and rifle fire.”

Cpt. Fox Russell was originally a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in 1914, before attending medical school and training to become a medical officer with 1st/6th Battalion (Anglesey and Caernarvonshire) Royal Welsh Fusiliers, with who he then served in Egypt with. He was one of the first to join the Scouts at Holyhead in 1909 and became Patrol Leader of the Wolf Patrol along with his brothers, Henry, William and Thomas, who also all served in the War – Henry was also awarded a Military Cross.

His Victoria Cross is on display at the Army Medical Services Museum, in the Defence Medical Services Training Centre, Keogh Barracks, on Mytchett Place Road, Mytchett in Surrey. He is buried at the Beersheba War Cemetery and is commemorated on the Holyhead Cenotaph, as well as with a commemorative plaque in the cemetery.