Sir Ernest Beachcroft Beckwith Towse, (23 April 1864 – 21 June 1948) was an English British Army officer and campaigner for the blind. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Military career Towse, the son of a solicitor, was born in London, and was educated at Stubbington House School, Gosport, and Wellington College, Berkshire. In February 1884 he joined the 3rd (Highland (Rifle) Militia) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders as a lieutenantLondon Gazette, 14 March 1884. and in December 1885 received a Regular commission in the Wiltshire Regiment.London Gazette, 15 December 1885. In 1886 he transferred to the Gordon Highlanders. He distinguished himself with the Chitral Expedition in 1895, was promoted to captain on 20 May 1896, and served in the Tirah Campaign on the North-West Frontier of India in 1898.Hart′s Army list, 1901

After the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, his battalion was sent to South Africa. They were part of large force sent to relieve the Siege of Kimberley, and took part in the Battle of Magersfontein on 10–11 December 1899, in which the defending Boer force defeated the advancing British, causing heavy casualties. Towse was mentioned in the despatch from Lord Methuen describing the battle.

Details on the Victoria Cross Towse was 35 years old, and a captain in the 1st Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders during the Second Boer War when the following deeds led to the award of the Victoria Cross:

The shot that blinded Towse was fired by the Russian volunteer Yevgeny Maximov who was struggling with Towse during the action on Mount Thaba; the wounds Maximov suffered in that battle- splintered shoulder, a badly damaged shoulder blade and a serious wound to his skull- rendered him unfit for further military service, leading to him being honorably discharged from the Transvaal service.Davidson, Apollon & Filatova, Irina The Russians and the Anglo-Boer War, 1899–1902, Cape Town, Human & Rousseau, 1998 page 77-9. Queen Victoria, it is said, shed tears when pinning the decoration. Possibly at her instance, The War Office awarded Towse with a special wounds pension of £300 a year.

He retired from the army in February 1902, but was appointed by King Edward VII one of His Majesty′s Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms on 1 January 1903.

Campaigner for the blind

Towse′s VC action left him blind and he spent much of the rest of his life working with the blind. He served in the First World War as a staff officer working with the wounded in base hospitals in France and Belgium, as well as promoting the welfare of blinded former servicemen. Towse was chairman of the British and Foreign Blind Association, founded the British Wireless for the Blind Fund in 1928 and was a trustee of The Association for Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind (GWB, now known as CLARITY - Employment for Blind People). He provided GWB a grant of £500, which enabled them to start making soap.

In 1940 he made his house available as a rehabilitation centre for civilians blinded through air raids. His sister, Beatrice Julia Beckwith Towse, was a committee member of the Disabled Officers Garden Homes (formerly Ex-Officers Direct Supply Association) organisation; she lived with him after his injury.Wounded in War they would work in Peace- A History of the DOGH Macdonnell Gardens, Sqn Ldr Brian R. F. Relf, R.A.F., p. 9

Among other appointments, Towse was a national vice-president of the British Legion from 1927, and Vice Patron of St Dunstans (now Blind Veterans UK) from 1946, holding both posts until his death in 1948.

Pipe Major George S. McLennan (1884–1929) of the Gordon Highlanders composed the 2/4 march "Captain E.B.B. Towse, V.C." in his honour.

The VC medal His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen, Scotland.

Medals and honours

Ribbon Description Notes Victoria Cross (VC) 6 July 1900 Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) 1927 Order of the British Empire (CBE) Civil Division – 1920 Venerable Order of St John (K.StJ) 1916 India Medal 3 Clasps Relief of Chitral 1895 Punjab Frontier 1897–98 Tirah 1897–98 Queen's South Africa Medal 3 Clasps Cape Colony Paardeberg Driefontein 1914–15 Star British War Medal World War I Victory Medal With Mentioned in dispatches Oakleaf King Edward VII Coronation Medal 1902 King George V Coronation Medal 1911 King George V Silver Jubilee Medal 1935 King George VI Coronation Medal 1937 Source:List of Captain Sir Beachcroft Towse' MedalsPhoto of Captain Sir Beachcroft Towse' Medals

Other honours Towse also received a number of other honours, including sergeant-at-arms in ordinary to the queen (appointed 1900); member of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (1903–39); and was also a member of the Fishmongers' Company and the court of the Clothworkers' Company.

References

Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995) Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 2000)

External links Location of grave and VC medal (Oxfordshire)

Angloboerwar.com Biography HappyDispatches Ch.14 Military History Journal