Wilfred Wood, V.C.

Engine named after "Private Wilfred Wood, V.C." who can be seen in picture. Wilfred Wood was born on the 2nd February 1897 in Stockport and as a young man enlisted as a private in the 10th Battalion The Northumberland Fusiliers. His citation reads that "...on 28 October 1918 near Casa Vana, Italy, when the advance was being held up by hostile machine-guns and snipers, Private Wood on his own initiative worked forward with his Lewis gun, enfiladed the enemy machine-gun nest and caused 140 men to surrender". Later when another enemy machine gun opened fire at near point-blank range, it was reported that Wood charged forward, firing his Lewis gun from the hip at the same time and killing the enemy machine-gun crew. Further, acting entirely on his own initiative, he advanced further and attacked a German-held ditch - three officers and 160 men subsequently surrendered to him. Wood was gazetted on 27th November 1918. Memorials to Wilfred Wood's heroism can be found at the Regimental Museum of The Northumberland Fusiliers at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland where a name plate from a London Midland & Scottish Railway engine bears his name. Wilfred Wood died on the 3rd January 1982 at his home in Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire.