The Royal Army Medical Corps is very proud of its record of Victoria Crosses. Despite being a fairly small Corps, to date 29 members of the Corps have received the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that a British soldier can receive.
Since it was created by Queen Victoria in 1856 only 3 men have won the Victoria Cross twice, two of these were Medical Officers, and one of these was Noel Chavasse.
Chavasse was born in Oxford but moved to Liverpool in his childhood when his father became Bishop of Liverpool. Later, he returned to Oxford to study medicine at Trinity College. Not only was he a bright spark, but he was a talented sportsman and represented Great Britain in the 400m at the Olympics of 1908. In 1913 he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and soon found himself in the trenches of Belgium at the outbreak of WWI.
His record for bravery is quite astonishing. Having already been awarded the Military Cross in 1915, he won his first VC during the Battle of Guillemont in August 1916. For two days and two nights he treated men whilst under fire from snipers, machine gun and artillery. He rescued numerous men from no man’s land, at one point getting to within 25 yards of the enemy trenches to do so, and even buried two dead men and brought home the identity discs of many others so that their families might know their fate. All this, despite having been wounded by a shell splinter. The citation records that he saved the lives of at least twenty badly wounded men and helped countless others who were less badly hurt.
His second VC is arguably more impressive. He won this during an extended period of action from 31st July to 2nd August 1917. Despite being severely wounded at the start of the action whilst carrying a wounded soldier back to a dressing station, he refused to leave his post and spent the next 3 days under heavy fire, searching for and rescuing wounded men, carrying them back over ‘heavy and difficult ground’. Exhausted and without food, Chavasse finally succumbed to his wounds and died on 4th August.
Chavasse embodied the principles of duty, service and self sacrifice that we hope to see in our soldiers and their medical officers. He is much celebrated, apparently he has more memorials than any other soldier (16 in total) and, particularly in the Medical Corps, he is something of a legend.
Captain Noel Chavasse
But his twin brother, Christopher Chavasse, was also no slouch. Anybody who has ever worried about being in the shadow of a sibling would sympathise with the twin brother of a double-VC winner. But Christopher rose to this challenge admirably and it is probably not fair that he isn’t as well known as Noel. He too went to Trinity College, Oxford. He too competed in the 400m at the Olympics, and he also competed for England at Lacrosse and played Rugby League for St Helens. During WWI he was a chaplain and was awarded a Military Cross for tending to wounded men under fire in much the same way as his brother. He was also awarded the ‘Croix de Guerre’ by the French for his distinguished service.
But Christopher survived the war and went on to further success as the Bishop of Rochester and the first master of St Peter’s Hall, Oxford. So if Christopher had something to live up to, what about his son - a man named Noel after his heroic uncle? He must have felt the pressure to perform when WWII loomed on the horizon. He didn’t let himself down. He served as an aide to Field Marshal Montgomery and was himself awarded the Military Cross for courage under fire in 1943.
I think it is fair to say that, as a nation, the UK owes the Chavasse family quite a debt. Beyond the three mentioned above, there is a whole load of Chavasses who have served the nation in one way or another.
Given the clustering of this extreme self-sacrificing behaviour in a single family, it is interesting to speculate to what degree genetics or upbringing contributed to its development. No doubt, as with all human traits, it is the result of the complex interplay of these factors.
This kind of morality is only possible in humans because of our ability to predict the consequences of our actions far into the future, an ability that derives from our relative intelligence compared to other animals.
An unexpected demonstration of a kind of morality comes from the classic psychological experiment known as ‘the Prisoner’s Dilemma’. Two criminals are caught and interrogated separately. If one bears witness against the other, he will be let off and the other will have a severe punishment. If they grass on each other, then both will get the severe punishment and neither will get let off. If both stay silent, they may both be convicted but with a lesser punishment.
What do they do? The criminal ‘moral code’ would dictate that they both stay silent and so neither of them gets the severe punishment. You can read more about the evolution of altruism and reciprocity in the post ‘Why Altruism Will Make You Happy and Healthy’ from 13th May 2019, but this example shows that ‘morality’ requires foresight and intelligence of a degree that most other animals do not possess; both prisoners have to be aware of what the consequences of their actions will be and how this will be perceived by their society.
A capacity for morality is hard wired into the human psyche but the form of that morality depends on our environment. As the above example illustrates, if someone is predisposed to be loyal and adhere to a moral code, but the moral code to which they are exposed is a criminal one, then they will be loyal criminals but not good citizens. If that same person is exposed to an environment in which self-sacrifice and public service is prized, then this will form the basis of their moral code.
Luckily, the Chavasses were not criminals and appear to have been brought up in an environment that inculcated in them a sense of duty. Whatever role genetics played in their personalities, they must also have been guided as children, by both parents and teachers, to believe in sacrificing themselves for the greater benefit of their society. This requires both an education in how to behave but, importantly, an upbringing which provides examples to follow. The setting of examples is crucial, if we want a culture where the sense of public service is widespread then everybody - leaders, parents, teachers, fellow citizens - needs to be aware of their responsibility to set an example.
Adam Staten is the author of the novel Steadfast: Band of Brothers based on his time serving as a medical officer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.