 Charles Upham Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham VC and bar (September 21, 1908 – November 22, 1994) was a New Zealand soldier who won the Victoria Cross twice during the Second World War: in Crete in May 1941, and at Ruweisat Ridge, Egypt, in July 1942. He is only the third person to receive the Victoria Cross twice, the only to receive two VCs during the Second World War and the only combat soldier to receive the award twice. (The others are Arthur Martin-Leake and N.G. Chavasse who both served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in the First World War). Photo of Victoria Cross recipient Charles Hazlitt Upham, migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference site with permission. ...
This article concerns the rank and title of Captain. ...
Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ...
September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ...
1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...
Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ...
Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...
For the famous World War II battle, see: Battle of Crete For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ...
Missing image Photo submitted by Martin Hornby - (Gallaher Cigarette Cards) Arthur Martin-Leake was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...
Noel Godfrey Chavasse (VC and bar, MC) (November 9, 1884–August 4, 1917) was a British soldier who is one of only three people to be awarded a Victoria Cross twice. ...
Early life
Charles Hazlitt Upham was born in Christchurch on 21 September 1908, the son of John Hazlitt Upham, a lawyer, and his wife, Agatha Mary Coates. He boarded at Waihi School, Winchester, South Canterbury, between 1917 and 1922 and at Christ's College, Christchurch, from 1923 until 1927. He attended Canterbury Agricultural College where he earned a diploma in agriculture in 1930. Christs College, Canterbury is an independent boys-only Anglican secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. ...
Lincoln University is New Zealands second newest university, formed in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury was made independent of the University of Canterbury. ...
He worked first as a sheep farmer, later as manager, and then as farm valuer for the government of New Zealand. In 1937 he joined the Valuation Department as assistant district valuer in Timaru, and the following year he became engaged to Mary (Molly) Eileen McTamney (a distant relative of N.G Chavasse VC and bar, MC RAMC.) In 1939 he returned to Lincoln to complete a diploma in valuation and farm management.
Upham enlisted in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) in September 1939 and was posted to the 20th Canterbury–Otago Battalion. He was promoted to temporary lance corporal, but initially declined a place in an Officer Cadet Training Unit (OCTU). In December he was promoted to sergeant and a week later sailed for Egypt. In July 1940 he was finally persuaded to join an OCTU.
First Victoria Cross In March 1941 his battalion left for Greece and then withdrew to Crete, and it was here that he was wounded in the action — from May 22-30 1941 — that gained him his first Victoria Cross. Combatants Greece New Zealand Australia United Kingdom Germany Italy Commanders Bernard Freyberg Kurt Student Strength 43,000 25,000 Casualties 3,500 dead 1,900 wounded 17,500 captured 6,200–16,100 dead, wounded, or captured The Battle of Crete (German Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta; Greek Μάχη της ΚÏήτης) began on the morning...
The award citation says he displayed outstanding gallantry in close-quarter fighting, and was twice hit by mortar fire and badly wounded. In spite of this and an attack of dysentery which reduced him to a skeletal appearance, he refused hospital treatment and carried a badly wounded man to safety when forced to retire. Eight days later he fended off an attack at Sphakia, 22 Germans falling to his fire.
Second Victoria Cross Upham was evacuated to Egypt, now promoted to captain. He received the bar for his actions on July 14 and 15, 1942.
When leading his company attacking an enemy-held ridge overlooking the El Alamein battlefield, he was wounded twice but took the objective after fierce fighting. He destroyed a German tank, several guns and vehicles with grenades. A machinegun bullet through the elbow shattered Upham's arm, but he went on again to a forward position and brought back some of his men who had become isolated. El Alamein is a town in northern Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea coast. ...
After his wounds were dressed, he returned to his men but was again severely wounded and unable to move. He was eventually overrun by the superior weight of the enemy forces and taken prisoner.
After capture, he was sent to an Italian hospital to recuperate but attempted to escape numerous times before being branded "dangerous" by the Germans and incarcerated in the infamous Oflag IV-C (Colditz) on October 14 1944. Colditz Castle in April 1945. ...
One attempted escape occurred when a group of POWs were being transported in open trucks through Italy. Upham jumped from the truck at a bend and managed to get four hundred yards away before being recaptured. He had broken an ankle in jumping from the moving truck.
When Colditz was liberated by American forces most of the inmates made their own way home immediately. Upham broke into a German armoury, helped himself to weaponry, and went out hunting Germans. Upham was keen to see action again, but was instead sent to Britain where he was reunited with Molly McTamney, who was then serving as a nurse. They were married at New Milton, Hampshire, on 20 June 1945. He returned to New Zealand in early September, and Molly followed after him in December.
When King George VI inquired of Major-General Howard Kippenberger whether Upham deserved a bar to the cross, Kippenberger replied: "In my respectful opinion, sir, Upham has won the VC several times over." George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor) (14 December 1895 - 6 February 1952) became the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Emperor of India, upon the unexpected abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. He reigned from 11 December 1936 until his death. ...
Major-General Sir Howard Kippenberger, KBE CB DSO ED, (28 January 1897-1957) was a New Zealand soldier during World War II. // Early Life He was born in Ladbrooks, near Christchurch, the son of a schoolmaster who later became a farmer at Waimate. ...
Post war
 Charles Upham's gravestone - Photo by Terry Macdonald After the war Charles Upham took up the New Zealand government's scheme of offering ex-soldiers the chance of a farm of their own. He lived out the rest of his life in solitude on his farm in Conway Flat, Hundalee, North Canterbury. It is said that for the remainder of his life, Upham would allow no German car on to his property. Grave photo of Victoria Cross recipient Charles Hazlitt Upham, migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference site with permission. ...
Grave photo of Victoria Cross recipient Charles Hazlitt Upham, migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference site with permission. ...
Hundalee is a rural locality in the Hurunui District of the Canterbury region of New Zealands South Island. ...
Although somewhat hampered by his injuries, he became a successful farmer and served on the board of governors of Christ’s College for nearly 20 years. He and Molly had three daughters, and lived on their farm until January 1994, when Charles’s poor health forced them to retire to Christchurch. He died there on 22 November that year, survived by Molly and his daughters. His funeral was conducted with full military honours and he was buried in the graveyard of St Paul's Church Papanui. Papanui is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. ...
A bronze statue of him now stands outside the Hurunui District Council buildings in Amberley, North Canterbury depicting Charles Upham ‘the observer’.[1] The Hurunui District is a political district on the east coast of New Zealands South Island, north of Christchurch, New Zealand. ...
Amberley is a town located in the Hurunui District of north Canterbury, on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. ...
The New Zealand region of Canterbury mostly comprises the Canterbury Plains. ...
His VC and bar is on display at the Army Museum Waiouru. [2] In November 2006 the medals were sold by Upham's daughters to the Imperial War Museum for an undisclosed sum. However, as New Zealand legislation prohibits the export of such historic items, the Imperial War Museum has agreed to a 999 year loan of the medals to the Waiouru Army Museum. [3] Waiouru is a small town in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. ...
The Imperial War Museum is a museum in London featuring military vehicles, weapons, war memorabilia, a library, a photographic archive, and an art collection of 20th century and later conflicts, especially those involving Britain, and the British Empire. ...
A house in Macleans College is named after him. The House System is a traditional feature of British schools, similar to the collegiate system of a university. ...
Macleans College is a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. ...
credit - QEII Army Memorial Museum File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
credit - QEII Army Memorial Museum File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Photo by Terry Macdonald Brigadier Leslie Wilton Andrew (VC, DSO) (1897-1969) was a New Zealand soldier who served in both World War I and World War II. He was born in Manawatu, New Zealand. ...
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Photo submitted by Gerald Napier - (from the Royal Engineers Library with permission) Photo by Terry Macdonald Cyril Royston Guyton Bassett was a New Zealander recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and...
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Keith Elliott (1916 - 1989) was a New Zealander recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...
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External links - Second Lieutenant C.H. Upham in The Art of War exhibition at the UK National Archives
- Charles Upham Record of Service article on Fight Times
- [4]Statue of Charles Upham, Amberley, New Zealand
- [5] Army Museum Waiouru
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