Harold John Colley was born on 26 May 1894 in Smethwick, Staffordshire to parents John and Hannah.
One of two boys and three girls, Harold was educated at Dudley Road Council School, after which he was employed at Tangyes Hydraulic and General Engineers in Soho, Birmingham.
Harold found later employment at Henry Pooley’s, a scale and weighing machine manufacturer, and later became a silver spinner and the J&R Griffin Link Works.
Outside of work, Harold was a keen churchgoer, attending Smethwick Baptist Church, where he turned out for the church’s cricket 11. He was a notable gymnast too.
Harold enlisted in the British Army on 1 September 1914, shortly after the British declaration of war on Imperial Germany.
At first, Harold was assigned to the Army Cyclist Corps attached to the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry (DCLI).
The Cycle Corps was used in the early days of the war to scout ahead and work as advanced cavalry, although it was largely obsolete following the establishment of trench warfare in early 1915. Harold was later reassigned as a dispatch rider.
Harold was awarded a certificate for Meritorious Conduct in March 1917 for his role in rescuing two men trapped by rubble from a mortar impact. Under heavy enemy fire, Harold dug the two men out, earning both a Mention in Despatches and a promotion to Lance Corporal.
Lance Corporal Colley was later transferred to the 10th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers with whom he would serve for the remainder of his war.
Harold was awarded the Military Medal for his part in the defence of British trenches near Beaumont Hamel on the morning of 4 June 1918.
At 2:30 am, a German party bombarded British lines before launching an infantry assault. The 10th Lancashire Fusiliers were at the forefront of the German attack and for a while, it looked like the Lancashire’s left flank might be overwhelmed.
On the right, the German attack was met with furious machine-gun fire. The platoon sergeant was wounded by Harold went forward with two men and began hurling grenades at the oncoming Imperial Germans.
By 2.50, the attack had been driven off at a heavy cost. The 10th Fusiliers had lost an officer and 12 men killed, 21 men wounded, and 2 officers and 13 other ranks missing.
On 28 August 1918, Harold was an Acting Serjeant when he performed the deeds that saw him awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
The 18 October 1918 edition of the London Gazette gives the following details:
“For most conspicuous bravery and initiative when in command of a platoon in support of forward platoons which had been ordered to hold on at all costs.
“When the enemy counter-attacked in force, he rushed forward on his own initiative to help the forward line, rallying and controlling the men holding it.
“The enemy by this time were advancing quicky, and had already obtained a footing in the trench. Serjt. Colley then formed a defensive flank and held it.
“Out of the two platoons only three men remained unwounded, and he himself was dangerously wounded.
“It was entirely due to Serjt. Colley's action that the enemy were prevented from breaking through, and were eventually driven off.
“His courage and tenacity saved a very critical situation.”
Sadly, Harold’s VC was awarded posthumously as he succumbed to the wounds he received on the 28th. He is buried at Mailly Wood Cemetery in the Somme Region of Northern France.