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Noel Godfrey Chavasse (born 9 Nov. 1884, Oxford, England) is one of just three men to be awarded the VC and Bar. A qualified doctor, he served in France and Belgium with the R.A.M.C -Royal Army Medical Corps- during the WW 1 and was attached to the 10th King’s (Liverpool Scottish) Regiment. He was awarded the Military Cross for bravery in June 1915, when he spent 48 hours in no-man’s land searching for and tending wounded troops. Afterwards, he asked one of his sisters to buy 1,000 pairs of socks and other comforts out of his own money for the men in his battalion.-
Captain Chavasse was awarded the VC for bravery at Guillemont on August 9-10, 1916, when he tended wounded men all day under a heavy fire and then searched for other injured soldiers at night in front of the enemy lines. During daylight hours the next day, he rescued still more men despite being wounded. During the two days, it was estimated he saved the lives of 20 men.-
At the third Battle of Ypres in the summer of 1917, an attempt was made to recapture the Passchendaele Ridge from July 31. On the first evening, Chavasse received a skull wound. He had his injury bandaged but he refused to be evacuated. Time and again, under heavy enemy fire, he went into no-man’s land to search for and treat wounded soldiers.-
In the early hours of August 2, weary, hungry and in great pain, Chavasse was finally taking a rest at a first aid post, when it was struck by a shell. He now had at least six injuries but crawled half a mile to get help for the wounded. By now his face was unrecognisable and he had a major wound to his abdomen. As he lay dying, he dictated a letter to his fiancée in which he explained that “duty called and duty must be obeyed”. He died at 2pm on August 4, 1917, aged 32. The Bar to Chavasse’s VC was announced in September 1917 when the citation praised “his extraordinary energy and inspiring example”.-
He was the only man to be awarded the VC and Bar during the Great War and he has at least 12 memorials dedicated to him – more than any other VC holder in the world.-
From:
telegraph.co.uk
historicalfirearms.info
wiki
Captain Chavasse was awarded the VC for bravery at Guillemont on August 9-10, 1916, when he tended wounded men all day under a heavy fire and then searched for other injured soldiers at night in front of the enemy lines. During daylight hours the next day, he rescued still more men despite being wounded. During the two days, it was estimated he saved the lives of 20 men.-
At the third Battle of Ypres in the summer of 1917, an attempt was made to recapture the Passchendaele Ridge from July 31. On the first evening, Chavasse received a skull wound. He had his injury bandaged but he refused to be evacuated. Time and again, under heavy enemy fire, he went into no-man’s land to search for and treat wounded soldiers.-
In the early hours of August 2, weary, hungry and in great pain, Chavasse was finally taking a rest at a first aid post, when it was struck by a shell. He now had at least six injuries but crawled half a mile to get help for the wounded. By now his face was unrecognisable and he had a major wound to his abdomen. As he lay dying, he dictated a letter to his fiancée in which he explained that “duty called and duty must be obeyed”. He died at 2pm on August 4, 1917, aged 32. The Bar to Chavasse’s VC was announced in September 1917 when the citation praised “his extraordinary energy and inspiring example”.-
He was the only man to be awarded the VC and Bar during the Great War and he has at least 12 memorials dedicated to him – more than any other VC holder in the world.-
From:
telegraph.co.uk
historicalfirearms.info
wiki
