Lance-Sergeant John Daniel Baskeyfield V.C.

South Staffords 1st Airborne Div, Arnhem 1944

Transcription of Citation

In this course of this preliminary engagement Lance-Sergeant Baskeyfield was badly wounded in the leg and the remainder of his crew were either killed or badly wounded.

During the brief respite after this engagement Lance-Sergeant Baskeyfield refused to be carried to the regimental aid post and spent his time attending to his gun and shouting encouragement to his comrades in neighbourly trenches.

After a short interval the enemy renewed the attack with even greater ferocity than before, under cover of intense mortar and shell fire. Manning his gun quite alone, Lance-Sergeant Baskeyfield continued to fire round after round at the enemy until his own gun was put out of action. By this time his activity was the main factor in keeping the enemy tanks at bay. The fact that the surviving men in his vicinity were held together and kept in action was undoubtedly due to his magnificent example and out-standing courage.

Time after time enemy attacks were launched and driven off. Finally, when his gun was knocked out, Lance-Sergeant Baskeyfield crawled under intense enemy fire, to another six-pounder gun nearby, the crew of which had been killed, and proceeded to man it single-handedly. With his gun he engaged an enemy self-propelled gun which was approaching to attack. Another soldier crawled across the open ground to assist him but was killed almost at once.

Lance-Sergeant Baskeyfield succeeded in firing two rounds at the self-propelled gun, scoring one direct hit which rendered it ineffective. Whilst preparing to fire a third shot, however, he was killed by a shell from a supporting enemy tank. The superb gallantry of this NCO is beyond praise. During the remaining days at Arnhem stories of his valour were a constant inspiration to all ranks. He spurned danger, ignored pain and by his supreme fighting spirit, infected all who witnessed his conduct with the same aggressiveness and dogged devotion to duty which characterised his actions throughout.