FIVE V.C’s AWARDED

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 November 1944, Page 5

FIVE V.C’s AWARDED

FIJIAN corporal included

RUGBY, November 2

An award of the V.C. for gallantry in the Arnhem battle, is among live such awards detailed in Thursday’s London Gazette. The awards are to Captain, Temp. Major R. H. Cain, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, who fought with the first Airborne Division; Lieutenant Tasker Watkins, Welch Regiment; Corporal Sydney Bates, Royal Norfolk Regiment, posthumously, Naikhyeshwamt Ghaclge of the Fifth Light Infantry, posthumously, and Corporal Sefanaia Sukenaivalu, Fiji Native Regiment, posthumously, who was the first nonEuropean soldier from the colonies to win a Victoria Cross in this war.

Cain on September 19 was commanding a rifle company of the South Staffordshire Regiment during the Battle of Arnhem when the company was cut off from the remainder of the battalion. Cain personally was largely responsible for saving the vi + al section from falling into the hands of the enemy during six days’ close engagement with, tanks and self-propelled guns and infantry. Time and again, although wounded, he individually engaged the tanks with anti-tank rocket weapons. Throughout the whole course of the battle of Arnhem, he showed superb gallantry. Stories of his valour were being constantly exchanged among the troops. Watkins was the only officer left of a company attacking an o objective in Normandy on August 16. He placed himself at the head of his men and under short-range fire charged two posts in succession, personally killing and wounding the occupants with a Sten gun. Reaching the objective, he found an anti-tank gun manned by a German. His Sten jammed so he threw it in the German’s face, then shot him with a revolver. He also performed numerous other acts of great individual bravery. Bates, in a desperate situation near Sourdeval, Normandy, on August 6, seized a light machine-gun. charged the enemy, and was wounded and fell, but recovered himself quickly and went forward again spraying the enemy with fire. Hit a second time more seriously, he staggered once more to his feet and continued towards the enemy. Wounded a third time, he went on firing from the ground, and died shortly afterwards. Ghadge commanded a rifle section which was under heavy fire in Italy on June 10. When all his men were killed or wounded, and Ghadge himself was wounded, he attacked a machine-gun post, threw a grenade, then . shot one of the crew with a Tommygun. Then having no time to change the magazine he grasped the gun by the barrel and beat to death the remaining two Germans. Sukanaivaly at Bougainville on June 23 crawled forward under heavy fire to rescue some men who had been wounded. On the way back he himself fell wounded. Attempts to rescue him were unsuccessful. Sukanaivalu realising further attempts to rescue him would cause his comrades more casualties raised himself in front of a Japanese machine-gun and was riddled by bullets. “This brave Fiji Soldier deliberately sacrificed his own

life because he knew it was the only way that the remainder of his platoon could be induced to retire from a situation in which they must have been annihilated had they not withdrawn,” says the* citation.