Talk:William Coltman

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Military history: British / European / World War I / World War II

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This article was created or added to during the Victoria Cross Reference Migration. It may contain material that was used with permission from victoriacross.net.

NCO or other rank ?

Richard Holmes claims in Tommy page 471 isbn 9780007137527, that Coltman was the highest decorated other rank of the war. If no one has any objection I will change the text.

Looking at the exisitng sourcing in the article, the ODNB also says highest decorated other rank, rather than just NCO. The NCO wording seems to come from Findagrave, which I'm not convinced is really a reliable source anyway. David Underdown (talk) 10:42, 1 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

conscientious objector?

on the wikipedia page on conscientious objection it says "A conscientious objector,[89] his Christian beliefs[90] prevented him from taking up arms, but as a stretcher bearer[1] he earned all of his decorations without firing a shot.[91]"

And yet this is missing from the wikipedia page about him? If this is true, it should appear in the very first paragraph.

2001:8003:6E5D:A900:643C:8F82:2A21:172C (talk) 21:47, 16 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

If it were true (and reliably sourced), it would be but describing him as a conscientious objector is extremely dubious. It would be a rare CO who volunteered to take up arms in the opening months of the First World War and held a commission (in the cadets) until after the end of the Second. The ODNB, for example, does not describe him as a CO. Nedrutland (talk) 22:23, 16 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Does this article from the BBC perhaps give it any more standing? I find it still rather dubious. 98.102.79.214 (talk) 16:16, 8 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

To quote his grandson John "He was not a conscientious objector - he was very much against that. He volunteered to go in and it was very hard to be on the front line as a volunteer." (Burton Daily Mail 5 November 2018 https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/burton/william-coltman-burton-victoria-cross-2126973 ) Nedrutland (talk) 08:10, 9 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]