Did you know that six streets in Cromer are named after six recipients of the Imperial Victoria Cross, now called the Australian Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for bravery in the Commonwealth? Here’s a brief look at these brave young men whose names grace our streets.
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Cutler Place
Cutler Place is named after Lieutenant Roden Cutler, who was a prominent diplomat and the longest serving Governor of NSW, having fulfilled the role from 1966 to 1981.
Lt Cutler proved himself to be a courageous soldier at the Battle of Damour, the final major operation of the Australian forces during the Syria-Lebanon Campaign of World War II. He fought for more than 18 days, that culminated in his wounding and the subsequent amputation of his leg .
In 2000, Lt Cutler was honoured as one of three Australian living Victoria Cross winners to be commemorated on a stamp and coin issue. He died in February 2002 at the age of 85.
Middleton Rd
Middleton Road is named after Flight Sergeant Rawdon Middleton, who was a bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force. During his 29th mission on a raid on Turin, Italy in 1942, his aircraft was damaged by flak over the target and a shell exploded in the cockpit.
Despite receiving wounds on his face and destroying his right eye, he managed to take control and pilot the crippled aircraft back towards England. However, he did not survive after the aircraft crashed into the English Channel. The last line of his Victoria Cross citation reads: “His devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds is unsurpassed in the annals of the Royal Air Force.”
Kenna Place
Kenna Place was named after Private Edward Kenna, who was known as the last living Australian Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was given the medal for his involvement in an action near Wewak, New Guinea, during which he exposed himself to heavy fire, killing a Japanese machine gun crew and making it possible for his company’s attack to succeed.
Kenna’s Victoria Cross was on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra for a period in 2010. His family later decided to sell his medals, including the VC, at an auction held at Dallas Brooks Hall in July 2011. Kenna’s medal group was sold for over $1 million to an unknown buyer.
Howse Crescent
The street was named after Captain Neville Howse, who was the first Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. An Australian Army officer, medical doctor, and politician, Sir Neville Howse, has been given the award for his action at Vredefort in 1900, when he went out under a heavy cross fire and picked up a wounded man, and carried him to a place of shelter.
Besides the Victoria Cross, Major General Howse is a recipient of various honours and awards, including the British War Medal, Victory Medal, and Queen’s South Africa medal.
He went to England for medical treatment in 1930 but died of cancer the same year. He was buried in Kensal Green cemetery, London.
Mcnamara Rd
Mcnamara Rd is named after Lieutenant Frank McNamara who was honoured for his actions in March 1917, when he rescued a fellow pilot who had been forced down behind enemy lines. McNamara was the first Australian aviator—and the only one in World War I—to receive the Victoria Cross.
The action left him wounded in the thigh and weak from blood loss. He later served in the Second World War as an Air Vice-Marshal. Between 1942 and 1945 he served as Air Officer Commanding British Forces in Aden before returning to London as the RAAF’s representative at Britain’s Ministry of Defence.
He died of hypertensive heart failure on 2 November 1961, aged 67, after suffering a fall at his home in Buckinghamshire.
Badcoe Rd
Major Badcoe was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for fighting in South Vietnam in 1966, whilst he was member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. In his role as an operations adviser for the team, Badcoe showed outstanding courageous behaviour and leadership, where he risked his life under heavy fire in the jungles to save the body of an American colleague.
Major Badcoe’s Victoria Cross medals have been on display at the Australian War Memorial, making him the 71st Australian to have his medal displayed at the war memorial.
About the Victoria Cross
Known as the highest award for valour in the British armed forces, the Victoria Cross was instituted in 1856 by Queen Victoria at the request of her consort, Prince Albert. Since its inception, only 1,348 crosses have been awarded. Around 100 Australians have been given the honour, including five Australians serving with South African and British units.
A Victoria Cross medal is made of bronze, which came from Russian guns captured during the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856 at the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine. The first recipients of the cross were also the ones who fought during the Crimean War.
In Australia, the Victoria Cross is awarded by the Governor-General, with the approval of the Sovereign, on the recommendation of the Minister for Defence, subject to review by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal.