Lewis McGee

Lewis McGee, VC was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. As a sergeant in the Australian Imperial Force, McGee was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in the Battle of Broodseindepart of the Passchendaele offensiveonOctober 1917. As his platoon came under heavy machine gun fire from a German pillbox, McGee rushed alone across open ground towards the emplacement. Armed solely with a revolver, he shot the gunners and captured the garrison. He then organised a bombing party, and led the group in the seizure of a second machine gun post.

McGee was born in Campbell Town, Tasmania, onMay 1888, the youngest of eleven children to John McGee, a labourer and farmer, and his wife Mary . Three of McGees sisters had died in infancy prior to his birth, andwhen Lewis was aged only sevenhis mother succumbed to pleurisy. Following his wifes death, John relocated his remaining family to a new farming property near Avoca. Here, Lewis gained employment as an engine driver with the Tasmanian Department of Railways. He also achieved a reputation as a powerful athlete, particularly as a cyclist with the Avoca Cycling Club. OnNovember 1914, McGee married Eileen Rose Bailey the couple had daughter Nada the following year.

Source: Wikipedia