Cyril Bassett

Cyril Bassett.
Cyril Bassett (1892–1983) was a New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's highest combat award for gallantry at the time. He was the only soldier serving with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War to receive this award. Born in Auckland, Bassett was a bank worker when the First World War began. Posted to the New Zealand Divisional Signal Company of the Territorial Force as a sapper, he saw action on the opening day of the Gallipoli campaign. It was during the Battle of Chunuk Bair in August 1915 that he performed the actions that led to his award. Medically evacuated due to sickness shortly after the battle, he later served on the Western Front and finished the war as a second lieutenant. Recalled to active duty during the Second World War, he served in the Home Guard as a commander of signals in the Northern Military District, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel.