Harold Mugford, was East Ham's third Victoria Cross winner. He was born in London in 1884 and attended East Ham Grammar School. Mugford's later life was spent in Essex, he died on 16 June 1958 and was buried at Southend. His Victoria Cross is on display at the Imperial War Museum. Harold Sandford Mugford was 22 years old, and a Lance-Corporal in 8 Squadron (Cavalry), Machine Gun Corps at Monchy-Le-Preux, France. "On 11th April 1917, under intense fire, Lance-Corporal Mugford got his machine gun into a forward very exposed position from which he dealt very efficiently with the enemy. Almost immediately his No.2 was killed and he was severely wounded. He was ordered to go to a new position and then have his wounds dressed but this he refused to do staying to inflict severe damage on the enemy with his gun. Soon afterwards a shell broke both his legs but he still remained with his gun and when he was at last removed to the dressing station he was again wounded." London Gazette, 26th November 1917 Partial transcript from the East Ham Echo "East Ham's Third VC Public Presentation to Ex-Lance-Corporal Harold Mugford The thrilling story of how Harold Mugford, gallant East Ham lad in the Machine Gun corps, won the Victoria Cross was told again at East Ham Town Hall on Thursday evening to a great assembly of townspeople who had come to witness the presentation, to him by the Mayor, of the proceeds of the public fund raised in the Borough as a token of appreciation of the honour conferred upon him. And it was told, too, by an eye-witness, Private Harry Finch, one of his comrades in the gun ... who went out with him to the fight. It was as we know, at Monchy le Preux, a little village about eight or nine kilometres South-West of Arras, on April 11th last year. There had been some desperate fighting, and the position was still rather critical. The enemy had been massing for a counter-attack. "The infantry," said Private Finch, "had the order to take the village at all costs and of course, they took the village all right, but by the time they got there they were very much thinned out and it fell to our lot to go into action, and hold the position. We lost nearly half our men in galloping into Monchy le Preux, and when we got there we had no ammunition. That put us back a bit and I found ammunition and got our gun into action." http://www.newhamstory.com/node/372 http://www.essex-yeomanry.org.uk/fi...d34/1169054738_order_of_service_version_9.pdf http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9018347
