Stoke-on-Trent will pay tribute to its three Victoria Cross recipients during Centenary Remembrance events on Sunday 9 November 2025.
The city will pay special tribute to its three Victoria Cross recipients – Lance Sergeant John “Jack” Baskeyfield, Lance-Sergeant John Harold Rhodes and Sergeant Ernest Albert Egerton.
At Burslem Cenotaph, outside Swan Bank Methodist Church, a service led by Rev Kathryn Stephens will remember Jack Baskeyfield, who posthumously received the Victoria Cross for his actions at Arnhem in 1944, manning two anti-tank guns despite being wounded.
The City Remembrance Service will be held at Stoke Cenotaph, outside the Town Hall, at 10.45am, led by Rev Alison Thomas. The service will honour all three Victoria Cross recipients, members of their families have been invited . Those unable to attend can watch live on the Stoke-on-Trent City Council Facebook page from 10.40am.
John Rhodes VC, from Packmoor, was the most highly decorated non-commissioned officer in the Grenadier Guards, recognised for bravery at Passchendaele in 1917. Ernest Egerton VC, born in Longton, received the Victoria Cross at just 20 years old for actions in the same battle.
The Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, Councillor Steve Watkins, said: “These Victoria Cross recipients showed courage and selflessness beyond measure. As we mark the city’s Centenary, it is right that we come together to remember their bravery and the sacrifices they made for our country.
“As a veteran myself, it means a great deal to ensure that the legacy of heroes like Jack, John and Ernest live on for future generations. Ordinary young men who showed extraordinary courage in some of the darkest moments of our history – their sacrifice will always be honoured.”
As part of the Centenary programme, the Spitfire Gallery at The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery will host an expanded exhibition featuring items gifted by Baskeyfield’s family to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum. For the first time, his posthumous Victoria Cross will be on display, alongside a free screening of a special film on Arnhem and Baskeyfield’s final stand at 1.30pm in the museum theatre. With original footage this film charts the history of the battle and the courage Baskeyfield displayed before being killed in action at the age of 22.
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