Bot at 11:38, 15 December 2022

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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix =
|name =George Campbell Wheeler
|honorific_suffix = VC
|native_name =
|native_name_lang =
|image= Victoria Cross Medal without Bar.png
|image_size= 130
|alt =
|caption =
|birth_date ={{Birth date|1880|04|07|df=yes}}
|death_date ={{Death date and age|1938|08|26|1880|04|07|df=yes}}
|birth_place =[[Yokohama]], [[Japan]]
|death_place =[[Barton-on-Sea]], [[Hampshire]]
|placeofburial =St Mary Magdalene Churchyard, [[New Milton]]
|placeofburial_label =
|placeofburial_coordinates = 
|nickname =
|birth_name =
|allegiance ={{flag|United Kingdom|23px}}
|branch ={{army|British India|23px}}
|serviceyears = 1900-
|rank =[[Lieutenant colonel]]
|servicenumber =
|unit =[[9th Gurkha Rifles]]
|commands =
|battles =[[World War I]]
|battles_label =
|awards = [[File:UK Victoria Cross ribbon bar.svg|30px]] [[Victoria Cross]]
|relations =
|laterwork =
|signature =
|website = 
}}
'''George Campbell Wheeler''' [[Victoria Cross|VC]] (7 April 1880<ref name="NAM">{{cite web | url=http://www.nam.ac.uk/online-collection/detail.php?q=searchType%3Dsimple%26acc%3D1958-02-1&pos=0&total=1&page=1&acc=1958-02-1-1 | title=National Army Museum | accessdate=March 4, 2013}}</ref> – 26 August 1938) was 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.

== Early life ==
Wheeler was born in 1880, and attended [[Bedford School]] from 1893 to 1897.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} He was commissioned a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[Indian Staff Corps]] on 20 January 1900, and served with the [[9th Gorkha Rifles|9th (Gurkha Rifle) Bengal Infantry]]. He was promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 20 April 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette | issue=27469 | date=29 August 1902 |page=5608}}</ref>

== Details ==
He was 36 years old, and a [[major]] in the 2nd Battalion, [[9th Gurkha Rifles]], [[British Indian Army]] during [[World War I]] when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette|issue=30122|supp=y|page=5702|date=8 June 1917}}</ref>

On 23 February 1917 at [[Shumran]] on the River Tigris, [[Mesopotamia]], Major Wheeler, together with one Gurkha officer and eight men of [[Khas]] battalion crossed the river and rushed the enemy's trench in the face of very heavy fire. Having obtained a footing on the far bank, he was almost immediately counter-attacked by the enemy with a party of bombers. Major Wheeler at once led a charge, receiving in the process a severe bayonet wound in the head. In spite of this, however, he managed to disperse the enemy and consolidate his position.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

He later achieved the rank of [[lieutenant colonel]].{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

==The medal==
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the [[National Army Museum]], Chelsea, London.<ref name="NAM" />

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== See also ==
*[[List of Brigade of Gurkhas recipients of the Victoria Cross]]

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

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041210053535/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/hampshir.htm Location of grave and VC medal] ''(Hampshire)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, George Campbell}}
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1938 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Yokohama]]
[[Category:People educated at Bedford School]]
[[Category:British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Indian Staff Corps officers]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign]]

George Campbell Wheeler - Revision history

Bot at 11:38, 15 December 2022