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Lieutenant Guy Wylly VC

Lieutenant Guy Wylly
Lieutenant Guy Wylly

Date of birth: 17 February 1880
Place of birth: Hobart, TAS
Date of death: 9 January 1962
Place of death: Surrey, England
Unit: 1st Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen
Date of Action: 1 September 1900
Place of Action: Warm Bad, Transvall

Guy Wylly was born on 17 February 1880 in Hobart, Tasmania. The son of an Indian Army Major, Wylly spent part of his childhood in India, before his family returned to Tasmania to settle. He attended the Hutchins School in Hobart but later completed his final years at St Peters College in Adelaide before returning to Tasmania.

In 1900, Wylle joined the 1st Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen, and on 26 April, left for South Africa as a lieutenant. On 1 September 1900, Wylly was part of the Advance scouting part with John Bisdee VC.

Wylly got wounded during a Boer ambush at Transvaal, but despite this, he went to the assistance of a wounded corporal, giving him his own horse and, at the risk of being cut off, then provided cover fire from behind rocks to enable the corporal’s escape.

Following this incident, Wylly was again wounded before being transferred to the South Lancashire Regiment. On 5 December 1900 he was gazetted as a second lieutenant and joined the 2nd Battalion at Jubbilpore, India.

After the war he served with the Indian army, eventually retiring as a colonel in 1933. He was a staff officer during the First World War and for some time was attached to Australian formations. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1918. Having retired to Britain, he eventually died there.