b. 28/11/1893 Penge, London. d. 22/03/1918 Hervilly, France.
Herbert George Columbine (1893-1918) was born in Penge, South London on 28th November 1893, the son of Herbert Edward and Emma Jane (nee Royal). They married in 1893 in Thetford, Norfolk. He came from a military family and his father was killed in action during the Boer War on 11th July 1900 at Zillikat’s Nek, when Herbert junior was just six years old. The family home was in Crescent Road, Walton on the Naze, Essex, but after Herbert’s death she took the family back to London. She became a furniture dealer at 44 Anerley Road in Penge. She refused the Army pension to which she was entitled after her husband’s death. The people of Walton set up a street collection and raised £312, which she exchanged for War Bonds. Herbert was educated at Melvin Road Council School in Penge. After school he enlisted with the 19th Royal Hussars in 1911 and was allocated the service number 50720. In 1915, the regiment became part of the 9th Cavalry Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division and the machine gun detachment became the 9th Squadron Machine Guns Corps. He officially transferred to the Machine Gun Corps on 27th June 1916.
Herbert G Columbine VC
On 22nd March 1918 at Hervilly Wood, France, Private Columbine took over command of a gun and kept firing it from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in an isolated position with no wire in front. During this time wave after wave of the enemy failed to get up to him, but at last with the help of a low-flying aircraft the enemy managed to gain a strong foothold in the trench. As the position was now untenable, Private Columbine told the two remaining men to get away, and although he was being bombed on either side, he kept his gun firing, inflicting losses, until he was killed by a bomb which blew him up along with his gun. His last known words were “Save Yourselves, I’ll carry on”, shouted to his two comrades.
His body was not recovered and he was commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, The Somme. As he never married, his mother, Emma, was presented with his VC by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 22nd June 1918, exactly three months after his posthumous action. He is also commemorated on a bronze bust erected on The Esplanade, Walton on the Naze, Columbine Gardens in Walton on the Naze, on the Walton War Memorial, on a memorial at All Saints Church in Aldershot, Hampshire, and wuth a VC commemorative stone at Penge War Memorial.
In addition to the VC he was awarded the 1914 Star with “Mons” clasp, British War Medal 1914-19 and Victory Medal 1914-19. Her son’s medal was subsequently presented to Walton on the Naze District Council, Essex, who in turn handed it over to the local British Legion, who still own it. At this time it was kept in a bank vault. The medal has been on loan to the Essex Regimental Museum, Chelmsford, Essex since 2013.
The Columbine Statue Fund was set up under the patronage of Dame Judi Dench to raise money for a statue to Columbine in Walton on the Naze. The statue, sculpted by John Doubleday, was erected on 1st August 2014 on the seafront at Walton on the Naze. The Columbine Centre, a leisure and community centre in Walton-on-the-Naze, is named after him.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: ESSEX REGIMENTAL MUSEUM, CHELMSFORD, ESSEX (ON LOAN FROM WALTON ON THE NAZE RBL).
BURIAL PLACE: ON POZIERES MEMORIAL, THE SOMME, FRANCE. PANEL 93-94
