On 12th February 1972, Stanley Elton Hollis was laid to rest at Acklam Cemetery, Middlesborough. The former pub landlord - a father and grandfather who had died at the relatively young age of 59 - might have seemed like an ordinary man. Yet Hollis was a decorated war hero who had the distinction of receiving the only Victoria Cross awarded for actions on D-Day - 6th June 1944.
Early Life
Stan Hollis was born in Loftus, a village east of Redcar, Yorkshire, on 21st September 1912. He was the eldest son of Alfred Hollis, a labourer at an ironworks in the Teesside area, and Edith Jane Hollis (née White). After Alfred Hollis returned from World War I, suffering from the effects of gas poisoning, the family moved to the village of Fylingthorpe, near the picturesque Robin Hood’s Bay. Some years later, they moved to Ormesby, Middlesbrough, where they opened a fish and chips shop. Stan left school at the age of 14, despite winning a scholarship at Sir William Turner’s School in Redcar, which he turned down to help run the family business.
In 1929, aged 17, Hollis became an apprentice navigation officer with the Rowland & Marwood Steamship Company of Whitby. He later worked on ships heading to and from West Africa. However, his career in the Merchant Navy was cut short after he fell ill with blackwater fever in 1930, which led to his discharge.
Returning home during the economic depression of the 1930s, he struggled to find work. Yet, Hollis was determined to be self-reliant and never claimed any financial support. Eventually, he found employment as a lorry driver in the Middlesbrough area. In 1933, he married Alice Clixby, with whom he would have a son and a daughter. Shortly before the start of World War Two, Hollis enlisted in the Territorial Army (TA), joining the 4th Battalion, The Green Howards.
Military Service
Following the outbreak of war, Hollis transferred to the recently formed 6th Battalion, which, together with the regiment's 7th Battalion, was sent out to France in April 1940 as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The men of these two TA battalions were largely inexperienced. They were not equipped for fighting and it was expected that they would return to England in June to complete their training. Initially, the task of the 6th Battalion was to help construct aerodromes, although Hollis, already singled out as a bright prospect, was employed as his commanding officer’s dispatch rider.
The relative calm of the so-called Phoney War ended abruptly in May 1940, when fast-moving German armoured and infantry formations rolled through Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. The BEF and French forces, poorly equipped and coordinated, fought gallantly but were soon forced to retreat. As the German Army continued its rapid advance, the 6th and 7th Battalions were drawn into the battle. Despite their inexperience, the men found themselves in the thick of the fighting, knocking out enemy tanks and blowing up bridges to slow down the German advance, while the hard-pressed BEF began pulling back towards Dunkirk. The 6th Battalion was finally evacuated on 31st May.
Back across the Channel, Stan Hollis, who had demonstrated his leadership potential, was immediately promoted to sergeant. The 6th Battalion continued its training in England until June 1941, when it embarked for overseas service. Arriving in Egypt on 20th July, the battalion was sent to Cyprus for garrison duties until early November, before moving via Palestine to Iraq. Between January and February 1942, the 6th Battalion was in Syria, carrying out defence work, before it moved to Alexandria, Egypt, and then to the Tobruk area in Libya.
As part of the British Eight Army, the battalion fought in the defence of Egypt and at El Alamein, before participating in the advance into Tunisia. Stan Hollis received a head wound during the Battle of Wadi Akarit on 6th April 1943 and was withdrawn from the frontline whilst his unit returned to Egypt to prepare for the Allied invasion of Sicily. Shortly before the start of Operation Husky, Hollis was promoted again, this time to warrant officer class 2, and was appointed as a company sergeant major (CSM).
The 6th Battalion, The Green Howards, landed at Avola, Sicily, on the morning of the 10th. Hollis displayed his leadership and courage on several occasions, at one point being recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which, alas, he did not receive. A few days after the battle at the Primosole Bridge, south of Catania, he received another head wound, as a result of which, he was out of action for three months. By the time he recovered, the Sicilian campaign was over, and with the rest of his battalion, Hollis returned to the UK to prepare for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy.
D-Day
In the early hours of 6th June 1944, one of the ships steaming towards the Normandy coast was the SS Empire Lance. On board were the men of the 6th Battalion, The Green Howards, who were to be in the first wave landing on King Sector, Gold Beach. Stan Hollis was CSM of 'D' Company, whose task was to neutralise the Mont Fleury battery, sited on higher ground just beyond the beachhead. Hollis was returning to France for the first time in four years. By now, he was no stranger to combat, and, at 31, was considered one of the 'old men' of the unit, looked upon by the younger soldiers.
Just before 7.30 am, as his landing craft approached the beach, Hollis spotted what he believed to be a German bunker. Grabbing a Lewis gun off one of his men, he emptied the whole magazine towards it. As he handed the weapon back to its owner, he accidentally touched the red-hot barrel, burning his hand. He would later claim that this was the worst wound he received during the war.
After landing under fire, 'D' Company began advancing inland towards its objective. At one point, the company commander noticed that two German pillboxes had been bypassed and he asked Hollis to go with him to check that they were free of enemy soldiers. When they were only around 20 metres away from the first position, a machine gun opened up on them. Hollis immediately charged over open ground, firing his Sten gun through one of the slits, before climbing onto the roof of the pillbox and dropping a grenade inside. He then jumped down and burst inside, taking the surviving Germans prisoner. Hollis then followed a communication trench leading to the second bunker and repeated his feat. Single-handedly, he had captured 26 enemy soldiers, in the process saving the men of his company from being shot in the back as they obliviously walked past the pillbox.
By late morning, the Mont Fleury battery had been successfully captured. Casualties in the 6th Battalion were not as high as expected, but Lieutenant Colonel Robing Hastings had lost many of his officers. In 'D' Company, No. 16 Platoon had been left leaderless after both the platoon commander and platoon sergeant were killed, and thus Hollis was ordered to assume command as 'D' Company moved off to clear the village of Crepon.
At one point, No. 16 Platoon was ordered to search a lone farmhouse on the outskirts of the village. Although the property turned out to be empty, as Hollis investigated an orchard at the rear, there was a loud crack and a bullet grazed his right cheek before embedding itself in the wall behind him. Up ahead, he spotted a German field gun, hidden among the trees.
Having reported its position to his company commander, Hollis was given permission to deal with the gun. He picked up a PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank) and ordered two Bren gunners to accompany him. The three men crawled stealthily towards the German position, and as soon as they were in range, Hollis loaded the PIAT, took careful aim, and fired. Unfortunately, the projectile missed the target, and the gun crew, now alerted, traversed the gun until Hollis was staring right down its barrel. A shell screamed over his head and slammed into the farmhouse behind him. Wisely, Hollis decided to make a hasty withdrawal, shouting for the other two men to accompany him.
Unfortunately, they either did not hear him, or they were too afraid to move, so when he eventually looked back, Hollis realised that the two men were still in danger. Without hesitation, he grabbed a Bren gun and ran back into the orchard, charging straight toward the German position, whilst firing from the hip and shouting at the men to fall back whilst he covered them. Despite being completely exposed to the enemy fire, he miraculously made it back unscathed, as did the other two soldiers, whose lives he had undoubtedly saved whilst taking incredible risks. He later claimed that he had got them into that situation and it was therefore his responsibility to get them out.
Victoria Cross Award
By the evening of 6th June 1944, Stan Hollis and the men of the 6th Battalion, The Green Howards, together with the 7th Battalion, had battled their way around 11 kilometres inland, further than any other Allied unit. The 6th Battalion continued to serve in Northwest Europe until 13th December 1944, when it returned to England for the remainder of the war. In the meantime, Stan Hollis had been recommended for the award of the Victoria Cross - the highest decoration for gallantry in the British armed forces - for his actions at the Mont Fleury battery and Crepon.
Remarkably, both actions were deemed worthy of a Victoria Cross, and the award was officially announced on 17th August 1944. The citation published in The London Gazette stated that "Wherever fighting was heaviest CSM Hollis appeared, and in the course of a magnificent day's work he displayed the utmost gallantry, and on two separate occasions his courage and initiative prevented the enemy from holding up the advance at critical stages. It was largely through his heroism and resource that the company's objectives were gained and casualties were not heavier and, by his own bravery, he saved the lives of many of his men".
Stan Hollis was wounded again in September 1944, this time in the leg. Evacuated to England for medical treatment, his fighting days were over. For the rest of his life, he would have two bullets still lodged in his left foot, to go with a steel plate that was inserted into his skull to relieve the pain from an earlier head wound. On 10th October 1944, barely recovered from his injury, he was invited to Buckingham Palace, where he was presented with the Victoria Cross by His Majesty The King. Although many further gallantry awards were bestowed for actions on D-Day, Hollis was the only recipient of the Victoria Cross on that historic and momentous day.
Later Life
Following the end of the war in 1945, Hollis was demobilised. Jobs were scarce in Middlesbrough, but he found work in a local steelworks, before becoming a partner in a motor repair business in Darlington. In 1950, he returned to sea as a third engineer on a Canadian registered ship, spending four years sailing in the Far East. He next trained as a publican and successfully managed the popular Albion Pub in North Ormesby, later renamed The Green Howard in his honour. When the pub was demolished in 1970, Hollis took over The Holywell View pub at Liverton Mines, near Loftus.
By all accounts, he was a very modest man, despite his accolades. Hollis did not enjoy the publicity that came with being awarded the Victoria Cross. He did not see himself as a hero and always claimed to have done what anyone else would have done in the same circumstances. As well as being a natural leader, Hollis clearly possessed a natural aptitude for battle, but his acts had never been driven by foolhardiness, but by a great responsibility toward his men. Stan Hollis died on 8th February 1972, aged 59, at North Ormesby Hospital, after having suffered a severe stroke. Four days later, he was laid to rest at Acklam Cemetery, Middlesborough, with full military honours, as The Green Howards turned out in force to honour their D-Day hero. His wife Alice was buried with him on 23rd March 1990.
In October 1996, King Harald V of Norway, then the Colonel-in-Chief of the Green Howards, unveiled a memorial in Crepon dedicated to the men of the 6th and 7th Battalions who died during the Normandy campaign. The monument features a life-size statue of Stan Hollis, while a plaque pays a special tribute to him. On the wall behind him are engraved the names of his fallen comrades. Another statue honouring him was unveiled in November 2015 in his hometown of Middlesborough, while, in 2016, the Prince Bishop School in Saltersgill was renamed the Hollis Academy in his honour.
Stan Hollis’ medals, including his Victoria Cross, were auctioned at Sotheby’s in 1982 and fetched a then-record sum of £32,000. In November 1997, their owner, medal collector Sir Ernest Harrison OBE, chairman of Racal and Vodafone, presented them to the Green Howards Regimental Museum in Richmond, North Yorkshire. Today, the only Victoria Cross awarded on D-Day is proudly displayed in the museum’s medal room, alongside some 3,750 other medals and decorations presented to soldiers of the Green Howards throughout the regiment’s distinguished history, including no less than 15 other Victoria Crosses and three George Crosses.
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