THE FAMILY OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL TOM ADLAM, 7TH BN, THE BEDFORDSHIRE REGIMENT, HAVE LOANED HIS VICTORIA CROSS, ON A PERMANENT BASIS, TO SALISBURY CITY GUILD HALL. |
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27 September 2003 |
The Victoria Cross awarded to one of Salisbury's greatest heroes, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Adlam, is now on permanent display in the city thanks to his family and his former regiment. His VC, together with seven other campaign medals, and a City Gold Watch presented on his return from the Somme, were formally handed over to the city during a civic lunch held in the Guildhall on Saturday, 27th September 2003. The medals and watch are now on display in the city's Silver Cabinet in the Grand Jury Room at the Guildhall. Salisbury's Charter Trustees, led by Mayor Councillor Bobbie Chettleburgh, hosted the ceremony. Dignitaries included the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Sir Maurice Johnson; the county's High Sherrif, David Newbigging; and the Earl of Selbourne, a close family friend. Members of the Adlam family travelled from all parts of the country to attend the ceremony, including Margo Bird, aged 93, from Mere, Tom Adlam's grandson, Sergeant Martin Adlam, and great-grandson, Tom.
For the award of the Victoria Cross [ London Gazette, 25 November 1916 ], Thiepval and Swaben Redoubt, France, 27 - 28 September 1916, Second Lieutenant Tom Adlam, 7th Bn, Bedfordshire Regiment.
"For most conspicuous bravery. A portion of a village which had defied capture had to be taken at all costs, to permit subsequent operations to develop.Tom Adlam was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace on the 2nd December 1916. Following the end of World War I, Tom Adlam became headmaster of the village school in Blackmoor, Hampshire, where he and his wife Ivy raised their four children. Called into service again during World War II, he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1944. Tom Adlam died, aged 81, on the 28th May 1975, during a family holiday on Hayling Island, Hampshire. He is buried in St Matthew's Churchyard, Blackmoor, near Liss, Hampshire. |
Iain Stewart, 27 September 2003