Robert Stoddart

Born in Medomsley in 1893, he was a miner before he enlisted in the 19th (Bantams) Battalion DLI in March 1915. As a Sergeant, he gained the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry during an attack at Zillebeke Lake, Ypres, in early October 1918, when he "rushed a machine gun post, killing three of the crew and capturing the remainder and the gun" and then brought in wounded under heavy fire. He gained the Bar two weeks later at Moorseele, when he "charged two machine guns which were firing at him point blank, bayoneting two of their crew and taking the remainder prisoner". The next day, he led a successful raid on two fortified farms, but was badly wounded in the chest. After the war, Robert Stoddart returned to mining. He died in 1964, aged 70 years.