Surviving gun from the action at Nery, France, in 1914 in wich three Victoria Crosses were won
13 POUNDER QUICK-FIRING(QF) GUN MARK I OF ’L’ BATTERY, ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY
Early on 1 September 1914, during the retreat from the Mons, the German 4th Cavalry Division attaked the British 1st Cavalry Brigade at Nery, south of the Forest of Compiegne. The commander of ‘L’ Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, was knocked unconscious by a shell and in his absence Captain Edward Bradbury brought three of the Battery’s six guns into action against twelve German guns on high ground 500 yards to the east. Two of the British guns were hit almost immediately but the third, served by Bradbury and the wounded Sergeant David Nelson, continued to fire. When Battery Sergeant Major George Dorell joined them, Bradbury went to fetch more ammunition but was mortally wounded by a shell. Dorrell and Nelson kept firing until their last round was gone, the gun having accounted in all for three of the German guns.
As British reinforcements arrived the Germans withdrew, abandoning most of their remaining guns. Five officers and 42 men of ‘L’ Battery were killed or wounded at Nery.
Bradbury was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Dorrell and Nelson, both of whom were subsequently commissioned also won the Victoria Cross. Nelson died of wounds in 1918, while Dorrell died, aged 90, in 1971.
