Doncaster Victoria Cross war hero to be honoured with beer named after him

The Terminus Micropub in Conisbrough has teamed up with Keighley’s Wishbone Brewery to commemorate the heroics of Sergeant Laurence Calvert VC, who lived in the village.

The 26-year-old sergeant, who served in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was awarded the VC in 1918 for his actions at the Battle of Havrincourt in France, where under machine gun fire, alone and single handed, he rushed forward, bayoneting three and shooting four enemies to secure two machine gun posts.

Steve Pugh, micropub owner said, “Having lived in Conisbrough all my life it still amazes me that some people don’t know we have a VC winner. We feel that naming the beer Calvert’s Pale Ale would be a fantastic and timely recognition of a very brave member of our community and spread his name to a new audience.”

Born in Hunslet, Leeds, he moved to Conisbrough in 1910 where he worked as a miner at Cadeby Colliery.

He moved to Maltby Colliery for a short spell and when the great disaster happened at Cadeby in 1912, he presented himself at the colliery gate to enlist as a rescue worker.

He moved back to Cadeby Colliery soon after and continued to live in Conisbrough until he enlisted in the Army and was shipped to France in 1915.

He won the VC at Havrincourt on September 12 1918.

Steve and pub regular and amateur brewer Tom Young visited Wishbone recently to help brew the beer with Head Brewer Adrian Chapman.

Adrian said: “We love doing collaborations with other breweries and micropubs, Doncaster Brewery and The Draughtsmans Tap are two we’ve worked with. Calvert’s Pale will be very sessionable and should go down well. The combination of British hops makes it a very balanced drink”

The beer’s availability has been timed to coincide with Remembrance Week, so it will be on the pumps from Friday 5 November.

He was also awarded the Military Medal (MM), and the Belgian Order of Leopold (with palm), in the grade of Chevalier.

The brave soldier, who was 26 at the time, survived the war and lived until 1964.