Bayonet attack on a machine gun post

10th July 1941: Australian James Gordon wins VC for seizing initiative

James Gordon had understated his age ( then 33) in order to join the Australian Army in 1940.

In June the British had invaded Syria, at the time under the control of the Vichy French, in order to prevent the Germans from using the area as a base. It had been expected that the Vichy French forces might allow British to occupy the country if they entered i…