View source for George Godfrey Massy Wheeler

{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=George Godfrey Massy Wheeler
|birth_date=31 January 1873
|death_date= 13 April 1915 (aged 42)
|birth_place= [[Chakrata]], [[British India]]
|death_place= [[Battle of Shaiba|Shaiba]], [[Mesopotamia]]
|placeofburial=[[Basra War Cemetery]]
|image= VCGeorgeGodfreyMassyWheeler.jpg
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance={{UK}}
|serviceyears=
|rank=Major
|branch=[[British Indian Army]]
|commands= 
|unit=[[The Wiltshire Regiment]]<br>[[7th Hariana Lancers]]
|battles= [[World War I]]
*[[Battle of Shaiba]] {{KIA}}
|awards= [[Victoria Cross]]
|relations=[[Hugh Wheeler (East India Company officer)|Sir Hugh Massey Wheeler]] (grandfather)
}}
'''George Godfrey Massy Wheeler''', [[Victoria Cross|VC]] (31 January 1873 &ndash; 13 April 1915) was a [[British Army]] officer, and a recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.

==Background and family==
Wheeler was a grandson of [[Hugh Wheeler (East India Company officer)|Sir Hugh Massy Wheeler]]. He was educated at [[Bedford Modern School]]. In 1900 he married Nellie Purcell, a daughter of the surgeon Ferdinand Purcell.

==Military career==
Wheeler was commissioned a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[Wiltshire Regiment]] on 20 May 1893, and was promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 1 April 1895. He transferred to the [[Indian Staff Corps]] where he was attached to the [[7th Hariana Lancers|7th Bengal Lancers]], stationed at [[Faizabad]].<ref>Hart′s Army list, 1903</ref> Appointed [[adjutant]] of the regiment on 25 October 1901, he was promoted to [[Captain (BARM)|captain]] on 20 May 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette | issue=27469 | date=29 August 1902 |page=5608}}</ref>

==Victoria Cross==
He was [[Major (British Army and Royal Marines)|Major]] in the [[7th Hariana Lancers]], [[British Indian Army]], during [[World War I]]. On 12 April 1915 at [[Battle of Shaiba|Shaiba]], [[Mesopotamia]], Major Wheeler led his squadron in an attempt to capture a flag which was the centre-point of a group of the enemy who were firing on one of his troop's picquets. He advanced, attacked the enemy's infantry with the lance, and then retired while the enemy swarmed out of hidden ground where [[Royal Artillery]] guns could attack them. On 13 April Major Wheeler led his squadron to the attack of the North Mound. He was seen far ahead of his men, riding straight for the enemy's standards, but was killed in the attack. Major Wheeler was 42 years old at the time of this action, for which he was awarded the VC.<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/631077 CWGC entry]</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue= 29281|date=31 August 1915 |page=8699|supp=y}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
*''[[Monuments to Courage]]'' (David Harvey, 1999)
*''[[The Register of the Victoria Cross]]'' (This England, 1997)

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, George Godfrey Massy}}
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel killed in World War I]]
[[Category:Indian Staff Corps officers]]
[[Category:Wiltshire Regiment officers]]
[[Category:People educated at Bedford Modern School]]
[[Category:Burials at Basra War Cemetery]]
[[Category:Military personnel of British India]]