b. 10/12/1845 Edinburgh, Scotland. d. 09/05/1928 Hatherop, Gloucestershire.
DATE OF AM ACTION: 17/09/1870 Mediterranean Sea.
Captain William Balfour Forbes was born on 10 December 1845. He was the son of Arthur Forbes-Gordon of Rayne and Charlotte Balfour. He was given the name of William Balfour Forbes-Gordon at birth. He fought in the Straits of Malacca in 1874. He married Helen Arabella Persse, daughter of Walter Blakeney Persse and Anne Jane Whiteman, on 25 November 1889. They had three children – Helen Violet Forbes, Lieutenant Arthur Walter Forbes, and William Persse Forbes. Sadly, Arthur Forbes would be lost at sea on active service in 1918, having been awarded the DSO in 1917. William rose to the final rank of Captain, and served in World War I, being mentioned in despatches. He retired to Gloucestershire where he died in 1928.
AM CITATION:
On the night of the 17th of September last, whilst Her Majesty’s ship “Rapid” was proceeding from Tarrogona to Gibraltar, a boy fell from the main yard-arm, and in his fall struck his head against the gunwale of one of the boats, and was thereby rendered insensible. SUB LIEUTENANT WILLIAM FORBES (now LIEUTENANT), at once, and in the dark, jumped overboard, and seized him and persisted in keeping him up at imminent risk to his own life, for when the ship’s boat, which was lowered to pick them up, .reached them, SUB-LIEUTENANT FORBES was quite exhausted, and with the boy was underwater. Had the boat arrived a minute later both would have been drowned.
BURIAL LOCATION: ST NICHOLAS CHURCHYARD, HATHEROP, GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD.
