Tom Adlam

Who was Tom Adlam?

Lieutenant Colonel Tom Edwin Adlam 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.

Adlam was twenty two years old, and a temporary second lieutenant in the 7th Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place on 27 September 1916 at Thiepval, France, for which he was awarded the VC.

In civilian life, Adlam was a teacher at Brook Street School in Basingstoke and a member of the National Union of Teachers.

Adlam served in the Second World War with the Royal Engineers, and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.

His Victoria Cross is displayed at Salisbury Guild Hall.