German prisoners transport injured British Captain Benjamin Geary during the Second Battle of the Somme (1918), image from August 21, 1918.
Benjamin Handley Geary was born in 1891 while being educated at Keble College in Oxford, graduating in 1910. From 1912 to 1913 he was a professor, before being called up to fight in WWI from August 15, 1914 with the rank of second lieutenant. He served in the East Surrey Regiment and was soon deployed to France.
Second Lieutenant Geary was on Hill 60 near Ypres when the battle of such hill began on April 17, 1915. From April 20 to April 21, Geary and his men were caught in a fierce defensive struggle. Facing machine gun fire, Geary led his men through exposed terrain to help another regiment desperately defend itself in a crater at the top of Hill 60. The crater was bombed with heavy artillery, causing serious casualties to British defenders. Armed with only rifles, hand grenades and plenty of rush, Geary and his men repelled attack after attack, with no consideration for their own safety.
Geary was shot in the head and lost sight in his left eye, with his right eye also affected. Has been sent back to England For his bravery and most conspicuous determination, Geary received the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military honour, in addition to being promoted to lieutenant. After recovering, he returned to France in 1916 with the Royal Flying Corps, but only returned to active frontline service in January 1918, rejoining the East Surrey Regiment.
He was wounded again on the first day of the Second Battle of the Somme (1918) on August 21, 1918, as shown here. Geary survived the injury and was still recovering when the war ended in November 1918.
Geary retired from service in 1919 with the rank of captain.. In the 1920s, he emigrated to Canada and fought alongside the Canadian Army during World War II, reaching the rank of Major. Geary passed away peacefully in Canada in 1976, at the age of 84, being laid to rest in Ontario.

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