Source: Leicestershire War Memorials Project.
Bury and Norwich Post, and Suffolk Herald - January 17th, 1882

Presentation of the Victoria Cross

Our readers will be glad to learn that Private Thomas Ashford, of the Royal Fusiliers, the son of an old inhabitant of this town, has received the Victoria Cross for bravery in rescuing a wounded comrade at Deh Khoja, near Candahar, during the late war in Afghanistan. The following account of the investiture is taken from the Madras Mail, of December 14th:
One of the most brilliant military parades that Madras has seen for a long while was held yesterday evening, on the Island, on the occasion of the Victoria Cross being bestowed on Private Thomas Ashford, of the Royal Fusiliers, for conspicuous gallantry at Deh Khoja, when, in conjunction with Lieutenant Chase, of the Bombay Staff Corp, to whom the Victoria Cross has also been awarded, he rescued a wounded soldier of the same regiment named Massey. The scene yesterday reminded one of the time when the Birthday Review, in honour of Her Majesty the Queen, was held with all the military splendour that this city could command.
Dense masses of people crowded round the enclosure, and between 4,000 and 5,000 troops were brought together, and took up position in the following order from the left: - Two batteries of the Field Artillery, from St. Thomas’ Mount, the 12-8th and 19-9th Brigades, Royal Artillery; the Governor’s Body Guard; the detachment of the Royal Fusiliers; the Madras Volunteer Guards; and the 10th, 12th, 19th, 24th 36th, 39th Regiments, Native Infantry. The native regiments from Palaveram came in in the morning, and the two batteries of Field Artillery from the Mount at 3pm. The ground was kept by details from all the native regiments and by the 1st Cavalry. The Commander-in-Chief’s escort wearing Afghan loongias or turbans, a style of head-dress adopted since their campaign in Afghanistan. The arrival of his Excellency General Sir Frederick Roberts, V.C., the Commander-in-Chief, and his Excellency the Right Hon. M. E. Grant Duff, the Governor, precisely at half-past four o’clock, accompanied by his Highness the Maharajah of Vizianzgram, and by a numerous and brilliant staff, was announced by a salute of seventeen guns from the saluting battery, the guns being served by the Duke’s Own Volunteer Artillery. The cortege took up a position by the saluting flag for a few minutes, and then proceeded in procession to inspect the troops formed up in line, with the several hands massed behind. The procession, in addition to their Excellencies the Commander-in-Chief and the Governor, was composed of the following officers, who took position according to their respective rank: - Brigade-General Clark, Adjutant-General; Brigade-General O’Connell, Quarter-Master General; Brigade-General Stewart, Commanding Centre District; Colonel T. Dyer, Deputy-Adjutant General; Colonel Faunce, Assistant-Adjutant-General; Colonel Caine, Assistant-Adjutant-General Royal Artillery; Lt-Colonel Ewing, Deputy-Quarter-Master General; Major Eyre, Deputy-Assistant-Quarter-Master General; Major Curtis, Deputy-Assistant-Adjutant-General; Subadar Major and Honorary Captain Mahomed Abboolah, Native Aide-de-Camp to the Commander-in-Chief; Subadar Major Hoossain Khan, Native Aide-de-Camp to the Governor and the Staff of his Excellency the Governor, &c.

The procession was followed by Mrs Grant Duff accompanied by Captain Bagot, A.D.C., in an evening carriage drawn by four horses with postillions. The procession passed down the line from left to right, and the troops presented arms, and the massed bands played. On reaching the left of the line, Sir Frederick Roberts galloped back to the Fusiliers whose flank companies were then wheeled forward, Private Ashford was then called to the front and his Excellency directed the Adjutant-General to read the General Order and warrant of appointment. His Excellency then dismounted and pinned the proud distinction upon the breast of Private Ashford, who is a native of Newmarket, and has been 4 ½ years in the Army, and who, we may now remark here, is 23 years of age. Then, remounting, the Commander-in-Chief thus addressed the hero of the day, and the Royal Fusiliers:

“If affords me great pleasure, Private Ashford, to present to you the Victoria Cross which Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer upon you. I am especially glad to have this opportunity of seeing the Royal Fusiliers, for I well know the hard work they had to do in Afghanistan, and how admirably they conducted themselves while there. I was not at Candahar on the 16th August, 1880, but I heard from all that on that occasion the Battalion nobly maintained its high reputation. It must be very gratifying to your comrades to see you decorated in this public manner; my regret is that the whole of the Battalion could not be present. Those at Bellary will, however, hear that the parade was attended by his Excellency the Governor, and a large number of the principal residents of Madras, and it will, I am sure, be as pleasing to them as it is to us all that your gallant conduct should be thus specially recognised.”

Private Ashford, V.C., then, under orders, took his post at the saluting flag, and stood between the Commander-in-Chief and the Governor. The flank companies were then wheeled back, the Fusiliers formed quarter-column on the right company, and the whole force wheeled to the right, and proceeded to march past in column of double companies. Before reaching the first wheeling-point the infantry had to wade through a veritable pond, half-way up to the men’s knees, which, however, was only a preparation for the actual bog through which they had literally to plough their way, just at the critical moment opposite the saluting point. This quagmire no doubt seriously affected the steadiness and marching of the troops. The various brigades then halted, changed ranks, and marched past in mass of quarter-column, and changing ranks once more, again marched back in line of columns by brigades. The cavalry and artillery then trotted past, the infantry meanwhile taking up their old position in line of columns opposite the saluting flag. The whole division then advanced in review order, halted, presented arms, and having received the order to march to quarters, the bands struck up, and the review was over. The weather looked very threatening during the parade, and during the ceremony of the investiture a slight drizzle came on, which fortunately only lasted a few minutes. It was close upon six o’clock when the troops were dismissed. A second salute was fired from the saluting battery as the Commander-in-Chief and the Governor left the field.

Coalville Times article - Friday June 20th, 1902

Mr Thomas Ashford, postman at Whitwick, as the possessor of the Victoria Cross, earned in the Afghan War of '78, '79 and '80, enjoys the distinction of being the only postman in the country entitled to wear the cross "For Valour". Ashford served in the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), late 7th Royal Fusiliers, and with but three years' service, and at the age of 22, had the honour of having the Victoria Cross pinned on his breast by Earl, then (Sir Frederick) Roberts, commander of the forces in Madras Presidency.

Coalville Times article - Friday February 23rd, 1913:

Whitwick V.C. Hero

Huge crowd at the funeral

Interred with military honours

A vast concourse of people, estimated at about eight thousand, assembled at Whitwick on Tuesday afternoon, to witness the funeral of Mr Thomas Ashford, the V.C. postman, whose remains were laid in their last resting place amid remarkable scenes, testifying to the great respect in which the deceased was held and public admiration for the dead hero in connection with the brave deed which won for him the distinction so coveted of all military men. (How Ashford, during the Afghanistan War in 1880, assisted in carrying a wounded soldier for a distance of 200 yards under the fire of the enemy to a place of safety and the presentation by Lord Roberts of Her Majesty, the late Queen Victoria’s award for valour was told fully in our column last week.)

Never has such a scene been witnessed in Whitwick as that on Tuesday afternoon. At practically all the shops and residences the blinds were drawn, and various sections of the military forces were represented in the funeral cortege, which must have numbered some hundreds of persons. The streets from Ashford’s humble cottage in Skinner’s Lane to the Parish Church, and onward to the cemetery were crowded with people so thickly as only to leave just sufficient room for the funeral cortege to pass.

As the body was brought out of the house and placed on an ambulance carriage, covered with the Union Jack, a party of about 20 men of the 17th Leicester Regiment from Glen Parva Barracks, under Sergeant Gamble, who had lined up in front of the house, presented arms, and then with reversed rifles, walked at the head of the procession.
The chief mourners were the widow and two daughters, Lily and Gertrude, Mr and Mrs Neale of Hallaton, brother-in-law and sister, Mr W Handford, brother-in-law of Highfields Coalville and Mrs Handford, Mr C Holmes, brother-in-law of Whitwick and the Messers Holmes (2), Mr and Mrs Hill of Hallaton and Mrs Harris and Miss Allgood of the Whitwick Post Office. Walking immediately after the widow and daughters were Sergeant-Major I. Williams and Colour Sergeant W. Perkins, from the Hounslow London depot of the Royal Fusiliers, the deceased’s regiment and others in the procession were representatives of the Leicestershire Imperial Yeomanry, including Captain Surgeon Burkitt (Whitwick), Sergeant-Major Parker, Sergeant-Major Peach and Major Diggle of Loughborough, with about 20 of the rank and file, fifteen members of the Hastings Company of the Leicestershire Territorial Regiment in command of Col-Sergeant Farmer, about 20 members of the National Reserve with Ex-Sergeant-Major Harris of the Yeomanry in charge. Ashby, Coleorton and Whitwick Troops of Boy Scouts, in the charge of Scoutmaster S. Perry (Whitwick), Scoutmaster Ellison and Assistant Scoutmaster Thornley (Ashby), Sergeant-Instructor Stone of the Whitwick School of Arms, about fifty postmen, with the Coalville postmaster, Mr G. Wallis, and Mr R. H. James, postal inspector of Leicester, representing the department. Drs J. S. Hamilton (Coalville) and J. Archibald (Ellistown), Father O’Reilly, Mrs J. J. Sharp, who, it is not generally known, is the officially appointed “soldier’s friend” for the Whitwick district and others.

Twelve of the deceased’s postman comrades in uniform, acted as bearers, these being Messrs J. H. Timms, P. H. Haggar, H. Laywood, C. W. Woods, H. Ponntain, G. H. Kenney, and W. Bailey (Coalville), T. Harris (Whitwick), W. Covell, A. A. Watson, R. T. Ridderford and G. Keyworth (Leicester).

The cortege was met at the Church gates by the Rev. C Shrewsbury, M.A. vicar of Thringstone, and the choir and service in the church, was impressively conducted before a crowded congregation.

The 39th Psalm was sung, and after the reading of a portion of Scripture from the first epistle to the Corinthinans, 15c, the Rev. C. Shrewsbury said they were gathered there that day in such large numbers to do reverence: to pay their last act of homage to a brave and gallant soldier. There was no need for him to tell them, as they all knew of the heroism by which the deceased won that coveted distinction – the Victoria Cross. It was a far cry from that village in the centre of England, to the scorching glare of Afghanistan, but they tried to picture the brave deed of their departed brother, who, like a true British soldier, did not hesitate to risk his own life when the life of another was in peril. The Cross was won by that noble act of gallantry which would not allow a wounded soldier to perish, but they bore him away for 200 yards under the fire of the enemy, bore him slowly and carefully until they reached a place of safety. He asked them to think of that noble act of heroism and yet perhaps some of them faltered in carrying out the commonplace duties of life. But that was not so with him whom they now mourned. He who had won that cross “for valour” on the field of battle was content for 20 years or more to perform hard work, still in the service of his country, walking 17 miles day by day, without a murmur or complaint. He was one of whom they might say that he could be absolutely trusted. Think of the many secrets he must have carried locked up in that postman’s bag of his, but when one’s letters were placed in his charge he knew that they were quite safe. This two-fold idea of duty was not always easy to carry out. It was easy sometimes to rise to a supreme act of sacrifice, but it was not so easy to carry out one’s duty loyally year in and year out, and it was because the devotion to duty shown far away in Afghanistan was continued for so many years here in Whitwick, that they were there in such large numbers that day to pay their last act of reverence.

The deceased’s favourite hymn, 234 “O Paradise, O Paradise” was sung, and during the service, Mr R. G. West (organist) played the “Dead March” in “Saul”.

The procession was met outside the Church by the Whitwick Holy Cross Band, who had been got together at short notice, the men having been fetched out of the pit the same morning, and under Bandmaster W. Egan, they played the Dead March on the way to the Cemetery.

A tremendous crowd was at the cemetery to witness the last rites performed by the Rev C. Shrewsbury, and at the close of the service, the hymn, “On the Resurrection Morning” was sung. The body was enclosed in an oak coffin bearing the inscription:-

Thomas Elsdon Ashford V.C.
Died February 21st 1913
Aged 54 years

Immediately on the conclusion of the burial service the 17th Leicesters presented arms, and then fired three volleys over the grave, after which the buglers sounded ‘The Last Post’.

Some beautiful floral tributes bore cards as follows:
From his affectionate wife, Lily and Gertie. Gone but not forgotten.
With the deepest sympathy of the postmen at Leicester
To dear Tom, from his sorrowing sister, Sophia. Although a hero, modest as a violet.
Like the laurel, green his memory will ever be. With deepest sympathy from Mr and Mrs Bourne and family.
The noble hero’s task is done: his fight has been fought, his battle won. May he rest in peace. From Mr and Mrs G. F. Burton, Apsley House, Whitwick.
With the sincere regret and sympathy of the employees of Gracedieu Manor.
With sincere sympathy from the C Squadron of the Leicestershire Yeomanry.
With deepest sympathy from George and Flo, and Eva Hill Hallaton, to a dear friend.
With deepest sympathy from his comrades at Whitwick and Coalville Post Offices.
With loving sympathy from Omar and Sophie, Evan and Mary, and Jack and Fred.
In loving memory of our brave comrade. Gone to his last rally. From the members of ex-naval and military C.S.A., G.P.O. Leicester
With deepest sympathy form the members of the Sergeant’s Mess, the Royal Fusiliers, Hounslow Barracks.
With deepest sympathy from Mr and Mrs W. Handford, Highfields, Coalville.
From the Right Hon. and Mrs C. Booth, Gracedieu Manor.

On the return journey the Holy Cross Band played “The Minstrel Boy” and the military parties returned to their starting point, the Whitwick School of Arms, where, before they were dismissed, Dr. Burkitt thanked them for their attendance which, he said, showed that they appreciated the gallant act of their dead comrade. They could not all win the V.C. but every man could do something for the honour of his country.

The arrangements for the funeral, which was of a much larger scale than anticipated and passed off without a hitch, were carried out by a small committee consisting of Dr. Burkitt, Sergeant Green, Sergeant Stone, Mr George West and Mr H. T. Bastard (secty).

LETTER FROM LORD ROBERTS

Notice of Ashford’s death was brought to the notice of Lord Roberts by Mr A Jones of 37 Harrow Road, Leicester and Mr Jones received the following letter from his lordship which was handed to the widow on the day of the funeral.

Englemere, Ascot, Berks
24th February 1913

Dear Sir

I am very sorry to learn from your letter of the 21st inst, of the death of Mr Ashford. I well remember his great gallantry at Kandahar, and the pleasure it gave me to present him with the Victoria Cross, awarded to him by her late Majesty Queen Victoria.
Please tell Mrs Ashford how much I sympathise with her and her daughters in their sorrow.

Yours very truly
Roberts F.M.

MUFFLED PEAL

A quarter-peal of Grandsire Triples, 1,260 changes, was rung at Whitwick on Sunday last in 50 minutes, with the bells muffled, as a mark of respect to the late Mr Thomas Ashford V.C. The bells were rung by Messrs H. Pegg (treble), S. W. West, J. Moore, F. Middleton, H. Partridge, B. West, W. Fern (conductor) and J. Bonser (tenor).

Leicester Mercury 1992

Members of the Whitwick branch of the Royal British Legion fought to have a headstone to mark the grave since 1956 and in 1992, thirty-six years later their fight was won. The report in the Leicester Mercury at the time stated.

‘Mr Joe Stinson (70) of Gracedieu Road, Whitwick, who has been spearheading the campaign, said “I first realised Thomas Ashford was in the Whitwick cemetery after reading a Post Office magazine article about him in 1956. I went to find his grave and discovered there was not a headstone on it. Since then I have been trying to get a headstone put up but nothing has happened.”

That was until early last year when the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers agreed to meet the cost of a headstone for the grave. Officials at North West Leicestershire District Council also agreed to waive the usual cemetery fees and the headstone was finally put up.

Mr Stinson said “I am extremely pleased this campaign has ended now. The VC is the highest honour in the forces and it is important there is something in the cemetery to mark the fact that a villager who won the award is buried there.”

Last year, in honour of Mr Ashford’s bravery, councillors on the district council agreed that three village roads on a new estate off Church Lane should be named after him. They are Thomas Road, Elsdon Close and Ashford Close.’

Research undertaken and submitted (including photographs from Coalville Times) by Andy Murby 19/11/2017
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Thomas' s medals are held at the Royal Fusiliers museum, in the Tower of London. The photograph of his medals were sent in by family member, B. Miller in 2019.