Eric Gascoigne Robinson

Eric Gascoigne Robinson
Eric Robinson, VC from Gallaher Cigarette Cards
Born(1882-05-16)16 May 1882
Greenwich, Kent
Died20 August 1965(1965-08-20) (aged 83)
Gosport, Hampshire
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchRoyal Navy
Years of service1897–1933
1939–1942
RankRear Admiral
CommandsHMS M21
Battles / warsBoxer Rebellion
First World War

Russian Civil War
Second World War

AwardsVictoria Cross
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
Order of the Nile, Fourth Class (Egypt)
Knight, Order of St Anna (Russia)
Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japan)
Knight, Legion of Honour (France)
Croix de Guerre (France)
King Haakon VII Freedom Cross (Norway)

Rear Admiral Eric Gascoigne Robinson VC, OBE (16 May 1882 – 20 August 1965) was a Royal Navy officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross. He earned his award by going ashore and single-handedly destroying a Turkish naval gun battery while a lieutenant commander with the fleet stationed off the Dardanelles during the Gallipoli campaign in the First World War.

After these exploits, he was wounded on the front line on the Gallipoli Peninsula, but recovered and served continuously for the remainder of the war and into the Russian Civil War. In 1939 aged 57, he again volunteered for military service and spent three more years at sea, commanding convoys during the Battle of the Atlantic. In September 1941 he had to retire on health grounds, but in June 1942 he was well enough to be appointed to the post of Naval Officer in Charge, Dundee. which he held until his final retirement in November 1944.