Reply With QuoteWrong there are 3 holders of double VC's
Capt Noel Chevasse RAMC
Lt Col Arthur Martin-Leake RAMC
and
Capt Charles Upham a Kiwi who won both his VC's in WWII and ended the war in Colditz.
Holder's of 2 VC's?
the Royal Army Medical Corps- the second most decorated unit in the British Army 31 VCs well actually 29 but two people have earned the VC twice
Does anyone know who they were?
Wrong there are 3 holders of double VC's
Capt Noel Chevasse RAMC
Lt Col Arthur Martin-Leake RAMC
and
Capt Charles Upham a Kiwi who won both his VC's in WWII and ended the war in Colditz.
As Royal mentioned:Capt Charles Upham a Kiwi who won both his VC's in WWII and ended the war in Colditz.
Sorry....couldn't help myself.......my recruit platoon was Upham Platoon.Charles Upham
VICTORIA CROSS AND BAR
Acknowledged widely as the outstanding solider of the Second World War, Captain Charles Upham is the only combatant solider to receive the Victoria Cross and Bar (awarded to members of the armed forces of the Commonwealth for exceptional bravery). In Crete in May 1941 and the Western Desert in July 1942 Upham distinguished himself with displays of ‘nerveless competence’.
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1908 Upham was educated at Christ’s College and Canterbury Agricultural College at Lincoln. Prior to the war he was a farm manager and then farm valuer before enlisting in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (aged 30) in 1939, quietly citing his reason as a desire to fight for justice.
Courage and Resource
He was renowned for combining controlled courage with quick-thinking resourcefulness. While most medals for bravery are awarded for a single act, Upham’s first citation was for nine days of skill, leadership and evident heroism. In March 1941, he was a Second Lieutenant in the 20th NZ Battalion in Crete. His display of courage included destroying numerous enemy posts, rescuing a wounded man under fire and penetrating deep behind German lines, killing twenty-two German soldiers on the way to leading out an isolated platoon – all after being blown over by a mortar shell, painfully wounded in the shoulder by shrapnel and with a bullet in his foot.
The incident that typified Upham’s deeds was when two German soldiers trapped him alone on the fringes of an olive grove. Upham (on his way to warning other troops that they were being cut off) was watched by his platoon, a helpless distance away on the other side of the clearing, as he was fired on by the German soldiers. With any movement potentially fatal, he feigned dead and with calculated coolness waited for the enemy soldiers to approach. With one arm lame in a sling, he used the crook of a tree to support his rifle and shoot the first assailant, reload with one hand, and shoot the second who was so close as to fall against the barrel of Upham’s rifle.
Gallantry and Determination
Captain Upham's second citation was for his part in the July 1942 attack on Ruweisat Ridge, Egypt, where the New Zealand Division was stranded when promised armoured support never came through. As the Allied forces struggled to hold the line, Upham led his company on what was described as a savage attack on German and Italian strongpoints. Upham himself was responsible for destroying a German tank and several guns and vehicles with hand grenades and, though he was shot through the elbow with a machine gun bullet and had his arm shattered, he went on again to a forward position and brought back some of his men who had become isolated.
He was removed to the regimental aid post, but immediately after his wounds had been dressed he returned to his men. He consolidated and held his position and despite exhaustion, loss of blood and further injuries (as a result of artillery and mortar fire that decimated most of his company) he stayed with the only six remaining members until, now unable to move, he was eventually overrun by the superior weight of the enemy forces and captured.
Typifying his character and nickname ‘Pug’, he attempted to escape numerous times before being branded "dangerous" by the Germans and incarcerated in the infamous prison fortress Colditz.
On May 11 1945 King George VI pinned an official Victoria Cross onto Charles Upham's uniform. He returned to New Zealand in September 1945 and ceased expeditionary service in November 1945. In April 1946 he was an official member of the New Zealand Victory Contingent.
Modest Hero
Epitomising a certain strain of Kiwi modesty, Charles Upham was embarrassed by the accolades he received and attempted to avoid international media attention. When the people of Canterbury collected and offered him 10,000 pounds to purchase a farm in recognition of his gallantry, Upham refused and instead insisted the money be put towards an educational scholarship for children of returned soldiers.
At the conclusion of the war he returned to New Zealand to resume life as a sheep farmer in Hundalee, an isolated area north of Christchurch. It was rumoured that Charlie Upham never allowed a German-made car or machine onto the farm. He died in 1994.
When King George VI enquired to Major-General Kippenberger whether Upham deserved a Bar to the Cross, Kippenberger replied, "In my respectful opinion, sir, Upham has won the VC several times over." The Complete Australian and New Zealand Victoria Cross Reference affirms that "without doubt Upham remains one of the most courageous leaders of any modern conflict". Charles Upham was unassumingly a true edge warrior.
Our Platoon Sergeant commanded the gun carriage detachment that transported Captain Upham's body at his funeral.
Onward...
To my knowledge the best online source for information on Victoria Cross holders is found here.
Thank's lad's for the info, and a hell of a lot of respect to those men who did it the hard way
Charles Upham won two and Peter Worthington can't believe nobody made a movie
By PETER WORTHINGTON
Exactly 150 years ago, in 1854, the Victoria Cross was authorized for conspicuous bravery in the Crimean War (1853-56). Then, on June 26, 1857, the first 62 medals were awarded by Queen Victoria at a ceremony in London's Hyde Park.
Thus was born the world's most prestigious and egalitarian valour decoration that progressively has been more and more difficult to win. In a century and a half, only 1,394 VCs have been awarded -- some 94 to Canadians (16 in WW II, most of the rest in WW I). The last VC awarded was in 1982 during the Falklands war (unless some Brit gets it for action in Iraq). The story of the VC is told in a new book by Max Arthur, Symbol of Courage -- a definitive history, documenting every VC winner since 1854.
For today's generation the VC seems exotic and remote. Yet every one is a unique story of physical and moral courage. As of this April, only 15 VC winners were still alive, one of them Smokey Smith of the Seaforth Highlanders, the only surviving Canadian VC winner. Since 1854, three men have won the VC twice -- two of them medical officers for selfless courage in rescuing wounded under fire: Arthur Martin-Leake in the Boer War and WW I, and British Olympic sprinter (1908) Noel Chavasse in WW I, who died of wounds the second time.
The only "fighting" soldier to have the VC and Bar was New Zealander Charles Upham in WW II: Crete (1941) and North Africa (1942). And therein lies the most astonishing story of courage under fire. Incredible, to me, is that a movie has not been made about Upham, who was a sheep farmer in New Zealand, ever reluctant to think he'd done anything special.
Here's his story
Briefly, here is the story of his two VCs.
As a 2nd Lieut. in New Zealand's Canterbury Regiment, Upham commanded a platoon in the defence of Crete. On May 21, 1941, unsupported by any other arms, he led his platoon 3,000 yards against fortified German positions. When pinned down by machinegun fire, he advanced and took out the position with grenades and his pistol. When another section was under fire, Upham crawled to the German machinegun nest and took it out with grenades. Then he crawled through enemy fire to another machinegun post, and destroyed it. When ordered to withdraw, Upham carried out wounded while under fire. Another company became isolated, so Upham went through enemy territory to guide it out, killing two Germans on the way.
The following day he was wounded by shrapnel in his left shoulder, but refused to be evacuated. A bullet also hit his foot. Again, when his platoon was under fire, Upham crawled forward with his platoon and routed the Germans, killing 40. When ordered to retire, he sent the platoon back with a sergeant and personally went to warn other troops they were being cut off. He was fired upon, played dead, then bracing his rifle against a tree with his unwounded arm, shot two Germans. Although exhausted he went to the top of a ridge with a Bren gun and two riflemen, and shot 22 Germans, causing the enemy to flee in panic. Throughout the nine-day engagement he was wracked with dysentery, as well as wounded. He was 32.
A year later, he was a captain commanding a company in North Africa, attacking a feature called El Ruweisat Ridge. Wounded twice, he refused to be evacuated, and with grenades, ambushed and destroyed a truckload of German soldiers.
One-man assault force
When communications broke down, he went forward alone with a Sandau gun, fought several enemy machinegun posts, and brought back the required information. In a following attack he knocked out four machinegun posts and several tanks. Then he swung to his left flank and attacked and destroyed a German tank and several guns. He was a one-man assault force.
Upham was shot through the elbow, but kept going and beat off a determined counter-attack. Treated at an aid post, he refused to be evacuated and stayed with his men. He was wounded again. He and six from his company were the only survivors when they were overrun and captured. Viewed by the Germans as dangerous and relentless in efforts to escape, Upham spent the rest of the war in the notorious Colditz Castle.
After the war, the citizens of Canterbury raised $10,000 to buy Upham a farm -- which he refused, turning the money over for scholarships for the children of returned veterans. When King George VI asked Maj.Gen. Sir Howard Kippenberger if he really deserved a bar to the VC, Kippenberger replied: "In my respectful opinion, sir, Upham has won the VC several times over."
If that isn't fodder for an inspiring movie of courage and initiative, nothing is. Charles Upham died in 1994. He was 84.
RIP ... brave man!
Damn brave!
Of all the orders and decorations open to members of the Australian Defence Force, the Victoria Cross remains the most honoured, the most coveted. It marks its wearer as one possessing supreme courage, a disregard for danger and complete devotion to duty.
The Victoria Cross (VC) was instituted on 29 January 1856 and was made retrospective from 1 August 1854.
Prior to the Crimean War, there was no recognised gallantry medal, but the individual deeds in that war made the creation of such an award, available to officers and men alike, necessary.
The Victoria Cross, according to the Instituting Royal Warrant establishing rules and ordinances governing its bestowal, shall only be awarded for the 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.
In the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No. 525 Monday 4 February 1991, the Victoria Cross took its place as the highest Australian award in the Australian System of Honours and Awards. It may be awarded to members of the Defence Force or other persons determined by the Minister of State for Defence. Bars are awarded for further similar acts of bravery. The Victoria Cross may also be awarded posthumously and recipients are entitled to use the letters VC after their names.
The design remains identical in every way to the British award, a Maltese Cross in bronze adorned by a crown surmounted by a crowned lion, the emblem of the British royal family, in the centre, with a scroll bearing the inscription, ‘For Valour’. On the reverse is inscribed the date of the action. The name and regiment of the holder are inscribed on the back of the suspension bar. The ribbon is red for all Services, although until July 1918, the Royal Navy used the blue ribbon.
The medal ribbon group of Albert Jacka VC.
The Victoria Cross ribbon is at the left from the viewer's perspective.
The recipient can use the letters VC after his name. When worn, the VC takes precedence over all other awards, and is positioned to the far left of any medal group (as seen by the viewer - see image above). When in uniform and wearing the medal or the ribbon of the VC, any soldier awarded the medal is saluted by all other soldiers, regardless of both the rank of the wearer, and the rank of the other soldier. Thus, a general must salute a private soldier who has been awarded the VC.
The Cross has, from the first, been made by Messrs. *******, London jewellers and is hand fashioned. The metal used is taken from the guns captured from the Russians at Sebastopol during the Crimean War 1854-56.
The glorious fellowship of the Victoria Cross remains unique, it has no order nor chapel. The insignia is a small bronze cross costing a few dollars. It is confined to no caste, imposes no religious requirement nor colour bar. In the words of the Warrant ‘Neither rank nor long service, nor wounds, nor any other circumstance or condition whatsoever, save the merit of conspicuous bravery’ shall entitle a man to the award. The Cross has been granted to 13 persons of non-British origin, including three Danes, a German, a Swiss, a Belgian and one Ukrainian.
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