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Able Seaman Albert McKenzieThe sailors from the Vindictive, Iris and Daffodil
held their ballot and chose the critically wounded Albert McKenzie to represent them. Albert had been taken straight from Dover by train to the Royal Naval Hospital in Chatham. He was treated for his wounds and had begun to make a good recovery. By the Summer he was able to get about on crutches and was well enough to travel to London. Reportedly this 'hero of Zeebrugge' even had his portrait painted by order of the Navy Board.
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After his investiture Albert went back to his mother's house in Shorncliffe Road to a hero's welcome. On the
doorsteps of his home, which was ablaze with coloured flags and bunting, he was welcomed by the Mayor of Southwark who said Albert's honour was unique in a double sense, in that he was the first London
sailor to receive the Victoria Cross and also the first to be awarded it by the votes of his comrades. The mayor then thrilled the crowd by holding up Albert's blood-stained uniform and smashed wrist watch.
A present of War Bonds and a Presentation Address from his many friends in the Parish of St Mark's Camberwell was given to his widowed mother. 'We are prouder of you than we can say'
was the way the subscribers summed up their admiration for their fellow parishioner. |
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