Noel Godfrey Chavasse | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of N.G. Chavasse wearing the glengarry of the Liverpool Scottish | |
| Born | 9 November 1884 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Died | 4 August 1917 (aged 32) Brandhoek, Passchendaele salient, Belgium |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1913–1917 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Royal Army Medical Corps |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Victoria Cross & Bar Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches |
| Relations | Francis Chavasse (father) Christopher Chavasse (brother) Aidan Chavasse (brother) |
| Other work | Olympic athlete |
Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, VC & Bar, MC (9 November 1884 – 4 August 1917) was an English medical doctor, Olympic athlete, and British Army officer from the Chavasse family. He is one of three people to be awarded a Victoria Cross twice,[1] the others being Arthur Martin-Leake and Charles Upham.
The Battle of Guillemont saw acts of heroism by Chavasse, the only man to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice during the First World War. In 1916, he was hit by shell splinters while rescuing men in no-man's land. It is said he got as close as 25 yards to the German line, where he found three men and continued throughout the night under a constant rain of sniper bullets and bombing. He performed similar heroics in the early stages of the offensive at Passchendaele in August 1917 to gain a second VC and become the most highly decorated British officer of the First World War. He died of wounds suffered at Passchendaele in 1917.[2]
- ^ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Archives, "Chavasse, Noel Godfrey (1884–1917)", Oxford Times, first published Thursday 15 June 2006 A lesson of history[permanent dead link]