John Dunville

Who was John Dunville?

John Spencer Dunville VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Dunville was born on 7 May 1896 in Marylebone, London, to Colonel John Dunville Dunville CBE DL and Violet Anne Blanch Dunville. His father was from Holywood, County Down and was chairman of Dunville & Co whiskey distillers. He was educated at Ludgrove School and at Eton, and was a member of the Officer Training Corps from May 1912 to July 1914. He passed matriculation for Trinity College, Cambridge, but joined the army instead.

He was aged 21 and a second lieutenant in the 1st Royal Dragoons, British Army during the First World War when he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 24/25 June 1917 near Epehy, France.