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| | | Captain Noel Chavasse VC |  |
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Dennis
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Number of posts : 9911
Registration date : 2007-06-27
 |  Subject: Captain Noel Chavasse VC  Sat 04 Aug 2007, 18:32 | |
| Some recent items concerning a true hero: Captain Noel Chavasse VC and Bar, MC The Noel Chavasse Memorial Association (“NCVCMA”) in Liverpool have for the past 18 months been seeking to raise £106,000 to fund a public memorial statue in Liverpool in memory and tribute to all 16 of the Victoria Cross holders from Liverpool. Capt Noel Chavasse, one of only three soldiers to have been awarded the VC twice, was an Old Lerpoolian. The Fund Raising effort is nearing success and they are seeking to close the final gap and give the go ahead. The College and the OL Society have made contributions. If you feel you can help, please contact Bill Sergeant, 8 Tanat Drive, Liverpool, L18 6HL, 0151 724 3171, billtanat@hotmail.co.uk or Don Allerston, 0151 425 3375, donallerson@myway.com. Any donation however small would be much appreciated. Two specific ways you can contribute:- Firstly, a Celebration Dinner for the Life of Capt Chavasse on Saturday 11th August The Dinner will take place at the Devonshire House Hotel, Edge Lane, Liverpool 7, close to the Museum of the Liverpool Scottish Regiment. This year is the 90th Anniversary of Capt Chavasse’s death. The Dinner will be a formal occasion and will be attended by the Surgeon General, Lieutenant General LP Lillywhite, MBE QHS MB MSc MFCMpsc, the Parliamentary Under Secretary (Veterans), the Hon Derek Twigg MP and other Civic and local dignitaries. In addition to a Guest Speaker, there will also be suitable entertainment and the menu will be closely based on that which was enjoyed by Capt Chavasse and his fellow officers to celebrate the award of his first VC. Tickets at £40 or £350 for a table of 10 are available from Bill or Don at the contact numbers above. Also, The Book 1 of “Liverpool Heroes” – the stories of 16 Liverpool holders of the Victoria Cross This book chronicles the fascinating stories of these Liverpool heroes and is available at a price of £7.00 plus £1.50 for post and packaging. All proceeds from the sale of this book go towards the Fund for the Memorial Statue. Cheques should be made payable to “NCVCMA” and the book can be obtained from Donald Allerson, 12, Wexford Avenue, Hale Village, Merseyside, L24 5RY. 0151 425 3375. donallerson@myway.com--------- A cause worth supporting, Cheers,
Last edited by Dennis on Mon 18 Aug 2008, 10:43; edited 1 time in total | |
|  | | Dennis
Admin
Number of posts : 9911
Registration date : 2007-06-27
| | Subject: Re: Captain Noel Chavasse VC Mon 18 Aug 2008, 10:40 | |
| New city statue honours Victoria Cross heroes Liverpool Post & Echo THE unveiling of a memorial in honour of Liverpool’s Victoria Cross heroes was watched by upwards of 1,000 people at an historic ceremony yesterday. The bronze sculpture commemorates the life and deeds of Noel Chavasse, the only soldier to receive two VC medals for bravery during World War 1. It depicts Captain Chavasse and a stretcher bearer from the Liverpool Scottish Battalion rescuing a wounded soldier in no-man’s-land.  Around the base are the names of 15 other Liverpool-born servicemen who received the VC for their bravery in a variety of campaigns, the earliest being the Indian Mutiny in 1857, to the most recent from the time of the Great War. Relatives of Noel Chavasse and of the 15 men whose names are included on the statue gathered in Abercromby Square for the 30-minute service, watched by hundreds of armed forces personnel, cadets, and members of the public. Although the ceremony took place under overcast skies, the rain held off long enough for the spectators to remain dry and watch a flypast by a Tiger Moth plane. It has taken three years of struggle by the Noel Chavasse VC Memorial Association (NCVCMA) to raise enough money for the sculpture, but it is still some way short of its £120,000 target. Donations have come from regimental associations such as the Royal Army Medical Corps, local businesses, and ordinary people. The statue is situated almost directly opposite to where Noel Chavasse lived, in what was then the Bishop’s House, as his father was Bishop of Liverpool. The present site for the memorial has been provided by the University of Liverpool, and is only temporary while a permanent one is being sought. NCVCMA chairman Bill Sergeant said: “This is a proud day in the history of our city. “It has been a struggle, but today sees the fruit of our labours. This memorial reminds us of the past, but it can also be an inspiration for the future. We can be assured that future generations will be reminded of the contribution our heroes made, and the principles for which they fought.” The 8ft sculpture was created by Tom Murphy, whose other work includes the Bill Shankly statue at Liverpool FC, and the Dixie Dean statue at Everton FC. He said: “I’m delighted for all the people who put money into the project.” | |
| | | | Dennis
Admin
Number of posts : 9911
Registration date : 2007-06-27
| | Subject: Re: Captain Noel Chavasse VC Thu 04 Jun 2009, 10:46 | |
| This is when I visited the statue....  A lasting tribute to a great hero. | |
| | | | Dennis
Admin
Number of posts : 9911
Registration date : 2007-06-27
| | Subject: Lord Ashcroft pays record price for 'ultimate' Victoria Cros Mon 23 Nov 2009, 10:33 | |
| In the news.....Captain Noel Chavasse was awarded his second Victoria Cross after dying from battlefield injuries in 1917 Allied forces on the battlefield as they recapture the Passchendaele ridge.
Lord Ashcroft is beleived to have paid "close to £1.5 million" for the medal Photo: GEOFF PUGH
The story behind the gallantry medals of Captain Noel Chavasse is deeply moving: he was awarded the second of his VCs after dying from battlefield injuries in 1917. Since then at least 12 memorials have been erected worldwide in his honour – more than for any other recipient of the Commonwealth's most prestigious bravery award.
Captain Chavasse's service and gallantry medals were left by his family decades ago to St Peter's College, Oxford. The college has now sold the medals to Lord Ashcroft, the billionaire Tory peer. According to college sources, the price was "close to £1.5 million", easily topping the previous world record for a medal, rumoured to be a private sale worth £1 million.
Captain Chavasse received one of only three VCs and Bar – or double VCs – that have been awarded since the medal was created by Queen Victoria in 1856, initially to honour servicemen from the Crimean War.
The Chavasse medals are now guaranteed place of honour in the new Lord Ashcroft Gallery, which will open at the Imperial War Museum next year and which is being built with a £5 million donation from the Tory peer.
The gallery will house Lord Ashcroft's collection of VCs, which he started to build up in 1986. It is now the largest collection of VCs in the world and is estimated to be worth at least £30 million. VCs and George Crosses already owned by the museum will also go on display in the gallery.
Captain Chavasse was a remarkable character, whose academic and athletic achievements came close to matching his wartime courage.
One of twins, he graduated with a first in philosophy from Trinity College, Oxford. While at university, he earned his blue in both athletics and lacrosse. After qualifying as a doctor, he went to work at the Royal Southern Hospital, Liverpool. He, along with his twin Christopher, represented Great Britain in the 400 metres at the 1908 Olympic Games.
Once the First World War broke out, Captain Chavasse served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in France and Belgium, where he was attached to the 10th King's (Liverpool Scottish) Regiment.
Captain Chavasse had already been awarded the Military Cross by August 1916 when, while he was serving in Guillemont, France, a unit of 600 men sustained 189 casualties. The young officer tended to wounded servicemen all day and night under heavy fire. He was awarded the VC for "conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty" after saving the lives of an estimated 20 seriously-injured men.
Almost a year later, Captain Chavasse was involved in the third Battle of Ypres, in which Allied forces recaptured the Passchendaele ridge, outside the Belgian town, over several months at a cost of almost half a million lives.
On the evening of July 31, 1917, Captain Chavasse received a skull wound. He had his injury bandaged but he refused to be evacuated. Instead, time and again and in appalling weather, he went into no-man's-land to search for and attend the wounded.
With virtually no food, in great pain and desperately weary, he again saved several lives. In the early hours of August 2, he was finally taking a rest at his aid post when it was struck by a shell. With everyone at the post killed or wounded, Captain Chavasse, who had at least six separate injuries, crawled for half a mile to get medical help for his comrades.
By now his swollen face made him unrecognisable and he was operated on for a serious abdomen injury. Yet he found the strength to dictate a final letter to his fiancée and cousin, Gladys Chavasse, in which he explained why he had carried on helping others despite his injuries: "Duty called and duty must be obeyed." He died on 4 August 1917, aged 32. The citation for a posthumous Bar to his VC praised "his extraordinary energy and inspiring example".
Lord Ashcroft, 63, is a self-made businessman, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party and a philanthropist. He has been a controversial figure for the past decade because he has given more than £10 million to his party and some of his companies operate out of the Central American tax haven of Belize.
Lord Ashcroft said yesterday that he was "thrilled" to add the medals to his collection. "I always felt the collection would never be complete unless it had a VC and Bar in it – and this is the ultimate VC and Bar. It has a spectacular story to it in terms of sustained bravery. Day after day, this courageous man was risking his life in the trenches to save his comrades."
The Tory peer, who would not confirm how much he had paid for the medal, added: "It is also nice that the funds from the sale will be used for superb academic purposes. It is fair to say it has helped me be 'uncommercial' about the price." | |
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