Lieutenant Bill Haine VC MC and the 1st Battalion Honourable Artillery Company in the Great War

Lieutenant (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Reginald Leonard (Bill) Haine VC MC was a member of the
1st Battalion’s No 3 (or C) Company and went with it to France on 18 September 1914. He was
awarded the VC for his actions at Gavrelle on 28-29 April 1917 during the battle of Arras, when, as
stated in his citation: ‘our troops, occupying a pronounced salient, were repeatedly counterattacked. There was an ever-present danger that if the enemy attack succeeded, the garrison of
the salient would be surrounded.’ His ‘superb courage, quick decision and sound judgement were
beyond praise, and it was his splendid personal example which inspired his men to continue their
efforts during more than thirty hours of continuous fighting.’ Haine later served in the Indian Army’s
35th Sikhs and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on the North-West Frontier of India
on 17 May 1919.