BORN BEVERLEY 1881. ELDEST SON OF ROBERT DESBOROUGH (1853-1943) & ANNIE WEST (1860-1935), OF 7 WOODLAND VILLAS, RENSBURG STREET, HULL (1911 CENSUS). ONE OF SEVEN CHILDREN. HE ENLISTED IN BEVERLEY. WAS A REGULAR ARMY SOLDIER (1901 CENSUS). HE LIVED AT BEVERLEY, KIRK ELLA, WHITTINGDON, STAFFORDSHIRE AND LAMBETH, LONDON. HE MARRIED ALICE ELIZABETH KELLY, ON 01/02/1909 AT HEADLEY ALL SAINTS CHURCH, SURREY. HUSBAND OF ALICE ELIZABETH DESBOROUGH, OF 17 TENISON STREET, YORK ROAD, LAMBETH (CWGC ADDRESS). THEY HAD THREE CHILDREN – ALICE, EVA AND FREDERICK DESBOROUGH. HE SERVED AS SERGEANT, 6425, 1ST EAST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT. WAS AWARDED THE MILITARY MEDAL & DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAL FOR BRAVERY. HE WAS KILLED AT PASSCHENDAELE, ON 04/10/1917, AGED 36. HIS ARMY EFFECTS WERE LEFT TO HIS WIDOW, ALICE. HE IS BURIED AT BEDFORD HOUSE CEMETERY. HIS GRAVE INSCRIPTION READS, “I THANK OUR GOD ON EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF THEE TILL WE MEET ALLIE”.
The post-nominal letters DCM, was established in 1854 by Queen Victoria as a decoration for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranking below the Victoria Cross, until its discontinuation in 1993 when it was replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. The medal was also awarded to non-commissioned military personnel of other Commonwealth Dominions and Colonies.
The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award was established on 25th March 1916, with retrospective application to 1914, and was awarded to other ranks for “acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire”. The award was discontinued in 1993 when it was replaced by the Military Cross, which was extended to all ranks, while other Commonwealth nations instituted their own award systems in the post war period.
