Lieutenant Philip Kenneth Edward Curtis VC (7 July 1926 – 23 April 1951) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Curtis was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions during the Battle of Imjin in the Korean War. Military career Curtis was born in Devonport in Devon, the only child of John Curtis, a labourer, and his wife, Florence . As a teenager he served as a volunteer ARP warden. In 1944 he joined the British Army, but did not go overseas. On 3 May 1946 he was commissioned into the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a second lieutenant, before being demobilized in 1948 and placed on the reserve of officers. After the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Curtis was recalled to active service and joined A company, 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment in Korea in March 1951. In late April 1951, A company was given the task of defending Castle Hill, a feature south of Imjin River, over which the Chinese were expected to attack, but isolated from the rest of the battalion. This was when the following deed took place for which Curtis, a 24-year-old lieutenant, was awarded the Victoria Cross during the Battle of Imjin. On 22/23 April 1951 near the Imjin River, Korea, during a heavy enemy attack, No. 1 platoon under the command of Lieutenant Curtis, was ordered to carry out a counter-attack which was initially successful, but was eventually held up by heavy fire and grenades. The lieutenant then ordered some of his men to give covering fire while he himself rushed the main position of resistance. In this charge he was severely wounded but he insisted on making a second attempt. While making another desperate charge he was killed when within a few yards of his objective after throwing a grenade which destroyed the enemy position immediately after. Anthony Farrar-Hockley, adjutant of the Glosters at Imjin River, witnessed Lieutenant Curtis' gallant deed, a desperate counterattack to regain a key position lost to the Chinese advance. At sunrise a Chinese attack was repulsed, but the British position was untenable. Below is part of Farrar-Hockley's account. Curtis is buried in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery, Busan, Korea. The medal The VC investiture took place on 6 July