Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, VC and Bar, MC,

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Captain Noel Chavasse was Medical Officer of the 10th (Liverpool Scottish) Battalion, the King's (Liverpool) Regiment, during the first three years of the First World War. He was the only man to win the British Military's highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross, twice during the Great War. In January 1909, Noel joined the Oxford University Officer Training Corps Medical Unit. He must have been a natural as by the following May, he was promoted to lance-sergeant.Noel did not have long to wait, on 9th October, 1914, orders were received for the battalion to move to Tonbridge Wells in Kent, prior to moving overseas. The 10th June, 1915 brought the battalion into the Battle of Hooge, Noel had lost most of his friends and Noel was recommended by his Commanding Officer for a Military Cross for his work during the battle but unfortunately, the recommendations were lost at Division level and not one of the battalion received any recognition for their actions ( Noel finally was awarded The Military Cross on 14 January, 1916, there was no citation in the London Gazette due to the lost recommendation and the length of the list). Noel was promoted to Captain in August 1915 and the next six months were spent in the gruelling tasks of trench warfare. Early in April, Noel learned he was being granted three days leave to return to London to receive his Military Cross personally from King George V. Unfortunately his award was postponed and after many delays, he finally went to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 7th June, 1916, almost a year since the Battle of Hooge. During the action, Noel was wounded by two small shell splinters in his back, despite this, he performed the deeds that were to gain him his first VC. The evening of the attack saw Noel and a party of volunteers in no-mans-land helping bring in wounded men. He got as close 25 yards (23 metres) to the German front line where he found three men. This went on all night and throughout all this, a constant rain of snipers bullets and occasional bombing swept no-mans-land. By this time, news started to reach the battalion of awards following the action at Guillemont. Two of Noel's stretcher bearers had been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and two more the Military Medal then on 26th October, 1916 the London Gazette announced that Noel Godfrey Chavasse MC, RAMC had indeed been awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation in the London Gazette read: During an attack he tended the wounded in the open all day, under heavy fire, frequently in view of the enemy. During the ensuing night he searched for wounded on the ground in front of the enemy's lines for four hours. Next day he took one stretcher-bearer to the advanced trenches, and, under heavy fire, carried an urgent case for 500 yards into safety, being wounded in the side by a shell splinter during the journey. The same night he took up a party of trusty volunteers, rescued three wounded men from a shell hole twenty five yards from the enemy's trench, buried the bodies of two officers and collected many identity discs, although fired on by bombs and machine guns. Altogether he saved the lives of some twenty badly wounded men, besides the ordinary cases which passed through his hands. His courage and self-sacrifice were beyond praise. In February, 1917 Noel was granted 14 days leave, he went on 5th February to Buckingham Palace where he was one of seven men being invested. The attack started at 3:50 am on 31st July. Noel had moved his aid post forward with the attack and set it up in a captured German dug out at Setques Farm. Noel had been injured in the head by a shell splinter as he stood up and waved to indicate the position of his aid post. It is possible he suffered a fractured skull in this incident. As night fell Noel picked up his torch and went searching the wrecked landscape for survivors, it was raining again by this time. Noel went to the door of the dugout to call in the next man when a shell flew past him and down the stairs, killing the man who was waiting to be carried away by the Field Ambulance. Details get very confused at this point, Noel may have received another wound but he carried on. The official history of the Liverpool Scottish has it that Noel was wounded twice more in the head. Noel had received four or five wounds, the worst being a gaping abdominal wound from which he bled profusely. He managed to crawl up the stairs and out of the dug out and crawled along the (flooded, muddy) "road" until he stumbled across a dugout occupied by Lt. Charles Wray of the Loyal North Lancs Regiment who sent for help and later sent an account to his local paper. Noel was sent to Casualty Clearing Station No. 32 at Brandhoek, which specialised in abdominal wounds. He regained consciousness and he spoke to a Colonel Davidson who reported "He seems very weak but spoke cheerfully". It was not to be a happy ending however as Noel died peacefully at 1pm on Saturday 4th August, 1917. The Bishop wrote to Bernard informing him of Noel's death: You will have heard by this time that our dearest Noel has been called away.... Our hearts are almost broken, for oh! how we loved him. Your dearest mother is pathetic in her grief, so brave and calm notwithstanding. But again and again, we keep praising and thanking God for having given us such a son. We know he is with Christ, and that one day - perhaps soon -we shall see him again. What should we do in such sorrow as this, if we could not rest on the character of God, on his love, and wisdom and righteousness.... Noel was buried on the 5th August. The news was released in the press on Friday 10th August. Many messages and letters were sent to the Bishop, including one from King George V. Obituaries appeared in all the local press, the British Medical Journal and the national press. The Daily Mail had a picture of Noel. Early in September a letter arrived at the Bishop's Palace from Lord Derby that made the Bishop break down in tears. It read: I signed something last night which gave me the most mixed feelings of deep regret and great pleasure and that was the submission to His Majesty that a Bar should be granted to the Victoria Cross gained by your son. There is no doubt whatsoever that this will be approved and while it cannot in any way diminish your sorrow, still from the point of view of those who are your friends, it is a great pleasure to think that your son in laying down his life laid it down on behalf of his fellow countrymen, and that it is recognized, not only by those who knew him, but by the King and Country as a whole. In all the records of Victoria Crosses given I do not think there is one that will appeal to the British Public more than the record for which this Bar is to be given, and as I said at the beginning of my letter, it was a great pleasure to think that this recognition of his services is thus recorded. The award was announced in the London Gazette on 14th September, 1917. It read: Though severely wounded early in the action whilst carrying a wounded soldier to the dressing station, he refused to leave his post, and for two days, not only continued to perform his duties, but in addition, went out repeatedly under heavy fire to search for and attend to the wounded who were lying out. During these searches, although practically without food during this period, worn with fatigue and faint with his wound, he assisted to carry an number of badly wounded men over heavy and difficult ground. By his extraordinary energy and inspiring example was instrumental in rescuing many wounded who would have otherwise undoubtedly succumbed under the bad weather conditions. This devoted and gallant officer subsequently died of his wounds. Noel is buried in Brandhoek's New Military Cemetery. His grave (Plot 3, Grave B15) has had several memorials over the years, the current headstone was erected on 28th April 1981. It is the only headstone in the world to have two Victoria Crosses engraved on it. The inscription "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" was selected by his father.

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