On our return from three days of restoration work we visitted Eccleston and cleaned the grave of Alfred Ernest Ind VC. In a beautiful churchyard at the rear of St Mary the Virgin Church and on the estate of the Duke of Westminster. He earned his VC just four weeks before Arthur Martin-Leake Vc and bar earned his first VC. His citation reads:
TAFELKOP 20 December 1901 He was 29 years old and serving in the Royal Horse Artillery when he stuck to his pom-pom gun under very heavy fire after all the remainder of the team had been shot down. Ind continued to fire into the advancing Boers until the last possible moment. A captain, who was mortally wounded in this action, requested that Ind’s gallant conduct on this and in every other action since he joined the pom-pom service be brought to notice. He died on 29 November 1916.
Brazier, Kevin. The Complete Victoria Cross : A Full Chronological Record of All Holders of Britain's Highest Award for Gallantry . Pen and Sword. Kindle Edition.
