John (‘Jack’) Scott Youll (June 1897- 27 October 1918) was a colliery electrician from a small village near Hartlepool, County Durham, before volunteering for the Army in 1915. Joining 1st Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, he showed early promise and was selected for officer training. He first saw action on the Western Front and was mentioned in dispatches for his conduct during the heavy fighting around Polygon Wood in the Third Battle of Ypres. But it was after redeployment to Italy that he earned the Victoria Cross for his exceptional valour and leadership near Asiago, during the...