BY LORD ASHCROFT|HERO OF THE MONTH
http://www.britainatwar.com^105and the Brigade Commander sent me off
at once with 300 Indian soldiers of the 9th
Jats in Ford vans with two rather antiquated
armoured cars. On our arrival a very
hectic engagement took place in which the
Mahsuds were eventually routed. Captain
Andrews, quite regardless of his own
danger, had only one thought – to collect
the wounded, dress them quickly and send
them off to safety in some of our Ford vans,
which I had put at his disposal. He seemed
to bear a charmed life as a number of his
assistants were killed or wounded. Just as he
was about to step into the last van, however,
he was killed.
“I brought his gallantry to the notice of
my Brigadier and he was awarded a well-
deserved posthumous Victoria Cross.
Captain Andrews had acted in accordance
with the highest traditions of the Indian
Medical Service and also of The Salvation
Army.”
ANOTHER WITNESS
A further account of Andrews’ courage
that day is provided by Catherine Baird
in her booklet, ‘Little Doctor’, VC (Harry
the wounded, as sturdy as the urgency of
the occasion would allow. He himself had
no cover.
“As the fighting grew more desperate,
the shelter had to be moved to another
position, but the doctor remained where
the danger was most acute. His wiry
figure could be seen running here and
there, stooping over inert bodies, working
swiftly so that, as soon as an ambulance
was available, as many as possible could be
collected from amid the flying bullets and
sent off to safety.
“As he slid the last stretcher into place,
a burst of gunfire crackled sharply. The
ambulance moved out of a cloud of smoke
and started on its way to safety. But the
‘little doctor’ lay still, among the dead, as
one overcome with weariness might lie,
having fallen asleep at his work.”
Andrews, who died aged 48, had in
the phrase favoured by the Salvation
Army for those who have died, been
“promoted to glory”. He was buried at
Bannu Cemetery, India (now Pakistan).
His posthumous VC was presented to his
widow by George V in an investiture at
Buckingham Place on November 2, 1920.
His name is commemorated on the Delhi
Memorial (India Gate) and there is a
painting of him by Joan Fairfax-Whiteside
at the Regimental Headquarters of the
Royal Army Medical Corps in Camberley,
Surrey.DEVOTED SPIRIT
The final word on the remarkable life
of Harry Andrews, a man who devoted
his life to serving others, should go to
a posthumous tribute published in The
British Medical Journal. It said: “He was
energetic, brimful of vitality, extremely
modest, quiet, thorough and reliable,
completely unselfish... His goodness
infected all those around him...”
I purchased Andrews’ VC privately in
2008 and I take immense pride in being
the custodian of this selfless character’s
gallantry medal.Andrews). She described how, on October
21, 1919 Andrews was determined to go
out to help the wounded regardless of
the risks to his personal safety: “Making
quick, thorough preparations, he went out,
dodging bursting shells and stumbling over
thick shrubs while the whistling of shells
announced their passage through the night.
Near a great boulder he built a shelter forVictoria Cross Heroes Volume II
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is a
businessman, philanthropist, author
and pollster. His sixth book on
gallantry Victoria Cross Heroes
Volume II was published in hardback
in 2016 and is now available in
paperback. For more information,
visit http://www.victoriacrossheroes2.com
Lord Ashcroft’s VC and GC collection is on public display at the Imperial War
Museum London. For more information, visit http://www.iwm.org.uk/heroes and
details of his VC collection may be found at http://www.lordashcroftmedals.com
For more information on Lord Ashcroft’s work, visit http://www.lordashcroft.com
Follow him on Twitter: @LordAshcroft“...he went out, dodging bursting shells and stumbling
over thick shrubs while the whistling of shells
announced their passage through the night”