| Date | 26 May 1998 |
|---|---|
| Type | Blue Plaque |
| Subject | Person |
| Plaque | RBWM |
| Location | 47 Clewer Avenue, Windsor, SL4 3QB — View on Google Maps |
| Status | Current |
| Reference | PQ-0021 |
| Volume | Blue Plaques |
| Collection | Plaques |
Summary
| Name: | Oliver Brooks |
| Born: | 31 May 1889 |
| Place: | Paulton, near Midsomer Norton, Somerset |
| Died: | 25 Oct 1940 |
| Profession: | Soldier and Commissionaire |
| Educated: | St John’s School, Midsomer Norton, Somerset |
| Famous for: | He was educated in Midsomer Norton and was then employed at Norton Hill Colliery (where his father worked) as a carting boy. He enlisted at Bath on 17th April 1906, just short of his 17th birthday, though he added two years to his age. He trained at Caterham and served at Victoria Barracks, Windsor. Awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery at Loos, France, 1915, serving with the Coldstream Guards. VC was presented 1 Nov 1915 by King George V aboard a hospital train at Aire Station, France Lived in Windsor from 1919 until he died in 1940 at home and is buried in Windsor Cemetery. He was also a commissionaire at the White Hart Hotel in Windsor. |
| Windlesora: | “Oliver Brooks VC“, by Derek Hunt in Windlesora 17 (1999). “First World War Memorial Garden“, by Derek Hunt in Windlesora 33 (2018). “Battle of the Somme“, by Derek Hunt and Dr Brigitte Mitchell in Windlesora 32 (2010) Victoria Cross Recipients |
Images
Curator's Notes
Buried in Windsor Cemetery, Section GN, Grave 352, 2 down 5 across.
Coldstream Guards, Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, London.
“Oliver Brooks VC” on victoriacrossonline.co.uk
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Blue Plaque for Oliver Brooks
5 June 1998
A blue plaque was unveiled to honour WWI hero Oliver Brooks, a Victoria Cross recipient and local war veteran.
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Blue Plaque For Oliver Brooks
18 June 1998
Sgt Oliver Brooks, a Victoria Cross recipient, honoured with a blue plaque at his Windsor home for World War I bravery.
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Local Victoria Cross Holders
20 January 2006
Celebrating 150 years of the Victoria Cross, this feature honours Windsor’s brave VC recipients and their extraordinary acts of courage.
Curator's References
Commemorative plaques on the RBWM website.