Samuel Forsyth, VC (3 April 1892 – 24 August 1918) was a New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that could be awarded at the time to British and Commonwealth forces.
Born in 1892, Forsyth enlisted with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force shortly after the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914. Serving with the New Zealand Engineers as a sapper, he participated in the Gallipoli Campaign and later fought on the Western Front. By August 1918, he was on probation to become a commissioned officer and was temporarily attached to an infantry battalion. On 24 August 1918, during the Second Battle of Bapaume, he played a key role in eliminating a machine gun nest that was holding up the advance of his battalion, but was then killed by a sniper. For this action, he was posthumously awarded the VC.
Early life
Samuel Forsyth was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 3 April 1892, one of four children of Thomas Forsyth, a night watchman on the SS Maori of Thorndon, and his wife, Grace. He attended Thorndon School and later Terrace School. After completing his education, he found employment as a gold amalgamator for the Monowai Gold Mining Company based at Thames.
Forsyth participated in charity work, volunteering for the Sailor's Friend Society. He was also interested in the military and in 1910, joined the Territorial Force in which he served as a field engineer.
First World War
On 13 August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, Forsyth enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force but after receiving treatment in Cairo, soon returned to duty at Gallipoli. He was lightly wounded during the August offensive later that year, but remained in the front-line. Suffering from jaundice,
Forsyth is one of 70 New Zealanders buried at Adanac Military Cemetery, near Miraumont in France. His name is on a memorial headstone erected by his mother Grace Forsyth at Karori Cemetery in Wellington. In the same city, a memorial tablet was erected in his honour at the premises of the Sailor's Friend Society. There is also a plaque to him in Queens Gardens in Dunedin.
Medal
King George V presented Forsyth's wife, Mary, with the VC in a ceremony that took place in late November 1918 at Buckingham Palace. Following her death and having never had children, Forsyth's medals, which included not only the VC but also the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal, were inherited by a nephew. They were sold in 1982 to a collector in Melbourne, Australia. The medals were purchased by Lord Ashcroft in 1992 and are on display in the Imperial War Museum.