Percy Storkey | |
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![]() Captain Percy Storkey VC, 1918 | |
Born | Napier, New Zealand | 9 September 1893
Died | 3 October 1969 Teddington, Middlesex, England | (aged 78)
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/ | Australian Army |
Years of service | 1915–19 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | 19th Battalion |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Victoria Cross |
Other work | Lawyer, judge |
Percy Valentine Storkey, VC (9 September 1893 – 3 October 1969) was a New Zealand-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Born in Napier in New Zealand, Storkey moved to Australia in 1911. He was a law student at the University of Sydney when the First World War began. He volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in May 1915 and was posted to the 19th Battalion. He saw action on the Western Front, including during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. It was during the German spring offensive of 1918 that he performed the actions that led to his award of the VC. He finished the war as a captain. Discharged from the AIF, Storkey returned to his legal studies and became a crown prosecutor for the New South Wales Department of Justice. Shortly before the Second World War, he was appointed a district court judge and served in this capacity until his retirement in 1955. He moved to England where he died in 1969 at the age of 78.