JMS Pearce
Hull, England

Britain can boast a variety of displays of memorial celebrations—regal, national, military, and personal—in an unrivalled blend of splendor and disciplined discretion. Of several decorations, symbolised by medals, the Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest of all military gallantry awards.*

Only three people have ever twice been awarded the VC. And only one was twice awarded the VC in World War 1. He was a young surgeon.

Noel Godfrey Chavasse M.A., M.B., B.Ch. VC & Bar, MC (1884–1917)

Noel and Christopher Chavasse were identical twin sons of the Reverend Francis Chavasse, who became Bishop of Liverpool (1900), and his wife Edith. Their uncle was a Birmingham surgeon, Sir Thomas Frederick Chavasse FRCS, a keen exponent of Lister’s antiseptic surgery. Noel attended Magdalen School in Oxford and the Liverpool College. He read Natural Sciences at Trinity College Oxford, gaining a first class honors degree in 1907. He studied medicine at Liverpool, graduating on 22 July 1912. After a brief period at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, he trained at the Royal Southern Hospital in Liverpool, where he was house surgeon to the preeminent orthopedic surgeon Robert Jones and acquired his surgical skills.

A fine athlete, he won a Blue in both lacrosse and athletics at Oxford. Both Noel and his identical twin brother Christopher represented Great Britain in the 1908 Olympic games in the 400 yards; Noel also ran in the 100 yards sprint.

Christopher served in the First World War as a chaplain. Wounded at Cambrai in 1917, he was awarded the Croix-de-Guerre and the Military Cross: “His fearlessness and untiring efforts in attending to the wounded were magnificent. Although continually under fire, he volunteered on every possible occasion to search for and bring in the wounded.” After the war he became the first Master of St. Peter’s College, Oxford and later Bishop of Rochester. His brother, Lieutenant Aidan Chavasse, was killed at Ypres. A younger brother, Francis Bernard, a battalion medical officer, was awarded the Military Cross (MC) and subsequently worked as an ophthalmologist in Liverpool.

Military hero

Noel Godfrey Chavasse joined the Royal Army Medical Corps at the outset of the First World War. He was attached to 1/10th (Scottish) Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment. He served as surgeon Lieutenant then Captain. With unquestioning patriotism he held an unshakeable belief that God was on the side of England. At the front, his tireless and selfless devotion to the needs and welfare of his men became legendary.¹ In 1916, he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry at Bellewaarde in the Second Battles of Ypres in June 1915. For further acts of bravery, on 9 August 1916 at Guillemont, in the Battle of the Somme, one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the First World War, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. His citation reads:

Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, M.C., M.B., Royal Army Medical Corps.

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty.

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 shell 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 twenty 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 1917, back at the front in the 3rd Battle of Ypres—which claimed the lives of an estimated 250,000 Allies—he was again wounded and despite mortal injuries, he repugned impossible odds and worked in appalling conditions under enemy fire to save many lives. When hit by a shell and suffering dreadful cranial and abdominal wounds, he defied orders to resile and continued to treat and to rescue wounded men. He died in hospital two days later. Chavasse’s second award (VC with bar) was made during the period 31 July to 2 August 1917, at Wieltje, Passchendaele. The citation reads:

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of a Bar to the Victoria Cross to Capt. Noel Godfrey Chavasse, V.C., M.C., late R.A.M.C., attd. L’pool R.

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when in action.

Though severely wounded early in the action whilst carrying a wounded soldier to the Dressing Station, Capt. Chavasse 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 in a number of badly wounded men, over heavy and difficult ground.

By his extraordinary energy and inspiring example, he 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.

Chavasse was buried at Brandhoek New Military Cemetery. His headstone uniquely carries a representation of two Victoria Crosses. A young surgeon of extraordinary accomplishments in a short life, Noel Chavasse had shown unsurpassed gallantry and immense moral and physical courage. His heroism is not just a story of battlefield valor, but also reflects the highest ideals of humanitarian service. His biographer Ann Clayton said: “Given his role as a non-combatant regimental medical officer, his achievement is the more remarkable.”¹

The Imperial War Museum records that after the war, opinions of the Battle of the Somme were less than enthusiastic. The most influential views² came from the pens of two wartime politicians: Winston Churchill in The World Crisis Vol III (1927) and David Lloyd George in War Memoirs Vol II (1933). The eminent historian AJP Taylor in his 1963 book The First World War: An Illustrated History, controversially wrote:

The Somme set the picture by which future generations saw the First World War: brave helpless soldiers; blundering obstinate generals; nothing achieved.

* A note on Medals for Gallantry or Distinguished Service:

“And bar” is a rare distinction indicating multiple awards.

The Victoria Cross marks the highest attainment of “most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.” Persons of any rank in the Naval, Military, and Air Forces of the United Kingdom are eligible. Queen Victoria first presented it in1857. Subsequent awards have mostly been presented by the monarch at investitures in Buckingham Palace.

The George Medal (GM), The George Cross (GC), The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Military Cross (MC), Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), The Air Force Cross (AFC), and The King’s Gallantry Medal (KGM) are other highly acclaimed awards for exemplary acts of bravery or service.

References

1. Clayton, Ann. Chavasse: Double VC. London: Leo Cooper,1992.
2. Reynolds D. Britain, the two world wars, and the problem of narrative. The Historical Journal. 2017;60(1):197-231.