Description
Distinguished Conduct Medal and pair – 36th Machine Gun Corps, 17th September to 23rd October 1918.
Distinguished Conduct Medal (Geo V) 7334 C.Q.M. Sjt R.G. Creese. 36/M.G.C.; British War and Victory Medals, 7334 C. Sjt R.G. Creese. M.G.C.
Richard Gordon Creese, was born in Aston, Birmingham on the 10th October 1888.
His MIC confirms entitlement to his DCM and pair, also serving in the South Staffordshire regiment, with service no 14759.
Distinguished Conduct Medal, London Gazette 3rd June 1919.
Published citation:-
“7334 C/Q/M/S R.G. Creese, 36th Bn M.G. Corps (Birmingham)
During all the operations between the 17th of September and the 23rd October 1918, and especially at Dadizeele, he performed his duties in a gallant manner under the most adverse conditions. On several occasions, when the ration parties could not reach the ration dumps owing to heavy shell and machine-gun fire, he personally walked through the barrage to deliver the rations.”
The original citation (original form W.3121 included) reads:-
“For most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.
During all the operations in which this division was engaged between the 17th of September and the 23rd of October 1918, and especially at Dadizeele , this N.C.O. performed his duties in the most gallant and praiseworthy manner under the most adverse conditions , and ensured the daily delivery of rations and ammunition to the sections in the line. On several occasions when the limbers were unable to proceed any further, or the ration parties could not reach the ration dumps owing to heavy shell and machine gun fire, C.Q.M.S. Creese personally walked through the barrage to deliver the rations, thus showing a splendid example to all the ranks.”
The original recommendation shows the award of a Military Medal was first recommended, this crossed out and replaced with D.C.M.
The 36th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (MGC), was part of the 36th (Ulster) Division.
September 1918 saw the 36th Battalion transitioning from the grueling stagnation of trench warfare to the fluid, chaotic “Open Warfare” of the final push. Stationed primarily in the Ypres sector, the battalion spent the first half of the month refitting and training. The tactical landscape had changed; the Vickers gun was no longer just a defensive tool but a mobile suppression engine.
On September 28, the Fourth Battle of Ypres (The Battle of Peakem Ridge) began. The 36th MGC was tasked with providing overhead fire to cover the advancing Ulster infantry. Unlike earlier in the war, where guns were static, the machine gunners now had to leapfrog forward, lugging 40-pound guns, tripods, and thousands of rounds of ammunition across the decimated, waterlogged terrain of the old Ypres battlefields. Despite the mud, they successfully established “barrage” positions that suppressed German pillboxes, allowing the infantry to swarm and capture key ridges.
If September was about breaking through, October was about the pursuit. The battalion moved with a relentless tempo that pushed men and equipment to the breaking point.
In early October, the battalion supported the capture of Dadizele and Moorslede. The fighting was “scrappy” and dangerous; German rearguards used their own MG08s to stall the advance, leading to lethal machine-gun duels.
The Battle of Courtrai: Starting October 14, the battalion played a pivotal role in the Allied drive toward the River Lys. The Vickers guns were used to create “curtains of lead,” preventing German reinforcements from reaching the front lines.
By late October, the battalion reached the Lys river. This was a logistical nightmare. Gunners had to ferry their equipment across under heavy shellfire. Once across, they occupied high ground to repel desperate German counter-attacks.
By late October 1918, the 36th Battalion MGC had mastered the art of indirect fire—aiming their guns like miniature artillery to hit targets they couldn’t even see. This technical proficiency came at a high price. The battalion suffered significant casualties from mustard gas and high-explosive shells, as the retreating Germans threw everything they had left at the advancing Ulstermen.
With various Ancestry details, his original form W3121 (DCM citation) and copies from the war diary covering the period mentioned in the recommendation.
Died September 1967 in Birmingham.
Condition – NE
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