Corporal Frederick George Coppins VC

Corporal Frederick George Coppins VC. . This paving stone has been laid in honour of Corporal Frederick George Coppins VC, the only Victoria Cross recipient to be born in the Ashford borough. All recipients of the Victoria Cross during the First World War have been honoured by the Government with a commemorative paving stone, which has been issued to the place of their birth on the 100th anniversary of the action. This paving stone was unveiled on 9 August 2018., Frederick George Coppins was born in Charing on 25 October 1889 and grew up in the village, attending the local school. His family gave their name to the junction of Pluckley Road and Charing Heath Road, witch is still known today as "Coppins Corner"., At age 18 in 1907, Frederick joined the Royal West Kent Regiment and served in the British Army, before emigrating to Canada in 1912 At the outbreak of the First World War, Frederick) enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and was serving with The 8th Canadian Battalion (90th Winnipeg Rifles) when he was awarded his Victoria Cross., Frederick was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 9 August 1918 in Amiens, France, when he single-handedly took out a machine gun position that was annihilating his platoon, saving the lives of many men. His official citation commends his bravery:, Cpl. Coppins, by this act of outstanding valour, was the means of saving many lives of the men of his platoon, and enabled the advance to be continued. Despite his wound, this gallant N.C.O. continued with his platoon to the final objective, and only left the time when it had been made secure and when ordered to do so., On 24 October 1918 he went to Buckingham Palace to receive his Victoria Cross medal from King George V., After the war, Frederick returned to Canada, and later moved to the USA, where he was an extra in two Hollywood movies: "All Quiet on the Western Front", and "A Man from Wyoming". He starred in the latter alongside renowned Hollywood actor Gary Cooper, who he spoke to about his Victoria Cross. He ironically played a German machine gunner in both films., Frederick died in a Veterans' Affairs hospital in Livermore, California on the 30 March 1963 aged 73., The Victoria Cross , The Victoria Cross is the highest award for gallantry that British and Commonwealth service personnel can achieve. It is awarded for acts of extreme bravery, daring acts of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty., It was created on 29 January 1856 during the Crimean War to acknowledge individual acts of bravery from all ranks, as prior to this, only senior officers were awarded medals for bravery as It was deemed that it was their leadership that drove men on to victory., It is handmade, traditionally using bronze taken from a gun captured in the Crimean War., The Victoria Cross was deliberately intended to have little actual value, as its value lies In what it stands for and what people do to earn it be extremely brave., The Victoria Cross has the shape of a Maltese cross, and features Queen Victoria's arms above a motto scroll bearing an inscription. Frederick's commemorative paving stone is embedded within a Maltese cross, made of granite., The inscription on the Victoria Cross Is "For Valour", a traditional word for bravery. It was personally chosen by Queen Victoria, after whom the medal was named. The Queen turned down the first suggestion, "For the Brave", explaining that all her solders were brave., During the First World War, 628 were awarded, a quarter pathumously.