Gabriel George Coury was born on 13th June 1896 at 16 Croxteth
Grove, Princes Park, the son of Coptic Christians. His father, Raphael, had
been born in Alexandria and his mother, Marie, in Lebanon. His parents had come
to Liverpool in the 1890s to help in the running of a family cotton broking
business. The family moved out to Waterloo and after attending Stonyhurst
College, Coury enlisted at the outbreak of the First World War and in 1915 was
commissioned into the South Lancashire Regiment. It was at Guillemont on the
Somme that he earned the Victoria Cross, his citation reading:
For most conspicuous bravery. During an advance he was in command
of two platoons ordered to dig a communication trench from the firing line to
the position won. By his fine example and utter contempt of danger he kept up
the spirits of his men and completed his task under intense fire. Later, after
his battalion had suffered severe casualties and the Commanding Officer had
been wounded, he went out in front of the advanced position in broad daylight
and in full view of the enemy found his Commanding Officer, and brought him
back to the new advanced trench over ground swept by machine-gun fire. He not
only carried out his original tasks and saved his Commanding Officer, but also
assisted in rallying the attacking troops when they were shaken and in leading
them forward.
He went on to qualify as a pilot in the RFC, suffering
considerable injuries when his plane crashed and burst into flames. Returning
to the North West to his job as a cotton broker he initially lived at 43
Canning Street L8, later moving to Bootle and Southport. He re-enlisted in the
army in 1940 and served until 1945.
After the war, unable to find employment in the cotton trade he
moved to 103 Brunswick Road where he opened a fish and chip shop. He prospered
in the new field of catering, opening more premises and gaining the concessions
for catering in a number of Liverpool parks. He died on 2nd February 1956 and was buried at
St Peter and Paul's church, Crosby.
