Two RAMC Victoria Cross Heroes of Third Ypres
On 31 July 1917, the guns opened up on the first day of Third Ypres. That day, two RAMC officers began the actions that would earn them the **RAMC Victoria Cross**. Captain Noel Chavasse and Captain Harold Ackroyd both served as medical officers in the thick of the fighting. Both men paid the ultimate price for their courage in the days that followed. Their stories sit side by side in Corps history, and together they show what “In Arduis Fidelis” truly means.
Captain Noel Chavasse: One of Only Three Double VC Recipients
Noel Chavasse remains one of only three men in history to receive the Victoria Cross twice. He is the only one who achieved this feat during the First World War. He earned his first VC at Guillemont during the Battle of the Somme in August 1916. There, he repeatedly braved heavy fire to search for and rescue wounded soldiers.
Just under a year later, Chavasse fought near the village of Wieltje on Pilckem Ridge. He suffered a severe wound early in the action on 31 July 1917, but he refused to leave his post. Instead, he kept tending the wounded for two full days. He repeatedly went out under heavy fire despite his own injuries.
A Bar to the VC, Awarded Too Late
A shell hit Chavasse’s dugout on 2 August 1917 and wounded him mortally. Medics carried him to a casualty clearing station at Brandhoek, where surgeons operated on him. He died of his wounds on 4 August 1917. Tragically, he never learned of his Bar to the Victoria Cross. The London Gazette didn’t publish the citation until 14 September, more than a month after his death.
Captain Harold Ackroyd: Courage Near Glencorse Wood
That same day, Captain Harold Ackroyd showed similar bravery nearby. His battalion pushed forward near Glencorse Wood in the Ypres Salient on 31 July, running into 1 August 1917. Ackroyd worked continuously under heavy machine-gun and shell fire. He treated and evacuated wounded men throughout the action. A wound on the first day didn’t stop him, and he remained on duty.
His citation credits him with saving the lives of officers and men who otherwise would have died in the forward areas. He often moved across open ground in full view of the enemy. Eleven officers outside his own battalion put his name forward for the award. This shows how many lives he touched that day.
He Never Lived to Receive His VC
Like Chavasse, Ackroyd never lived to receive official recognition for his gallantry. A sniper killed him on 11 August 1917 at Jargon Trench, close to Glencorse Wood, just ten days after the action that earned him the VC. He was still searching for casualties when he died. His widow received the medal on his behalf at Buckingham Palace the following September.
Why These Stories Matter for the Corps Today
Chavasse and Ackroyd represent something the RAMC has always stood for. Both men ran towards danger, unarmed, to save the lives of others. Their actions took place within days of each other, in the same small corner of Belgium. This happened during one of the deadliest opening phases of any First World War battle. As a result, Corps history often mentions their names together, though each man’s story deserves telling in full.
- Chavasse is one of only three men ever awarded the VC twice, and the only one to do so in the First World War.
- Both officers were RAMC medical officers attached to infantry battalions, not detached medical units.
- Both were wounded during the actions that earned their VCs, yet both continued working.
- Neither man lived to receive his award in person.
