Military Footsteps
July 1915 1 june 1916 31 july 1917 |
At the outbreak of war he enlisted, and shortly afterwards received a commission in the 6th Battalion Cameron Highlanders. Went to France and served successively as machine-gun officer and Adjutant to his battalion, being once mentioned in Despatches. He was in action at the Battle of Loos and was part of the attack made on Hill 70 Promoted to Lieutenant He fell during fighting near Frezenberg Spur, near Ypres |

Winchester College
Schooling :
Military Footsteps : Early 1913 2 june 1913 June 1915 1 april 1915 30 november 1915 26 october 1916 4 august 1917 14 september 1917 |
Educated at Magdalen College , Oxford , Liverpool College and Trinity College , Oxford
In 1907, Noel graduated with First class honours but Christopher failed, leading to a nervous breakdown. Both of them stayed at Oxford, Noel to study medicine and Christopher to retake his exams. During their time at Trinity, both men had not neglected their sports, rugby union being a favourite of theirs. In 1908, both twins represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games in the 400 metres. Noel finished third in his heat while Christopher finished second, neither time being fast enough to progress further. In January 1909, Noel joined the Oxford University Oficer's Training Corps Medical Unit. By the following May, he was promoted to Lance Sergeant. Noel finished his studies at Oxford in July 1909 and returned to Liverpool to continue his studies under such eminent teachers as Sir Robert Jones who went on to become a leading authority in orthopaedic surgery. On returning to Liverpool, Chavasse resumed his connection with the Grafton Street Industrial School, an institution for homeless boys in Liverpool. In the autumn, he went to London to sit his examination for Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons. He failed, apparently because of ill health. When he sat the examination again in May 1910, he passed it with ease. Christopher, in the meantime, was well into his studies for the ministry under his father's guiding hand. Noel progressed through his studies having studied pathology and bacteriology. As part of his course, he was obliged to undertake a hospital "placement". He found a position at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin. Whilst Chavasse liked Dublin, his first experience of living in a Roman Catholic community disturbed him. In January 1912 Chavasse passed his final medical examination, and was awarded the university's premier medical prize, the Derby Exhibition, in March that year. On 22 July 1912, Noel registered as a doctor with the General Medical Council. His first placement was at the Royal Southern Hospital in Liverpool, initially until 31 March 1913 and then for a further six months. He then became house surgeon to Robert Jones, his former tutor. After discussions with some of his fellow doctors, Chavasse applied for and was accepted by the Royal Army Medical Corps He was commissioned as a Lieutenant Thanks to one of his mentors, Dr McAlistair, who was then Surgeon-Captain of the 10th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment, the Liverpool Scottish, he was attached to the battalion as Surgeon-Lieutenant. The 10th Kings had been a Territorial Battalion since the Haldane Reforms in 1909. Chavasse joined the battalion and was welcomed by Lieutenant Colonel W. Nicholl, the Commanding Officer. As an officer in a Territorial unit, Chavasse now had to attend to both his civilian and military duties. During the First World War, Chavasse was a Captain with the RAMC attached to the 1/10th Scottish Battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment). Chavasse was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry at Hooge, although the award was not gazetted until 14 January 1916. Promoted Captain Mentioned in despatches Extracts from "The London Gazette" dated 26th Oct 1916 records the following: Location : Guillemont , Somme "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. During an attack he tended the wounded in the open all day, under heavy fire, frequently in view of the enemy. During the ensuring night he searched for wounded on the ground in front of the enemy`s lines for four hours. Next day he took one stretcher-bearer to the advanced trenches, and under heavy shell fire carried an urgent case for 500 yards into safety, being wounded in the side by a shell splinter during the journey. The same night he took up a party of twenty volunteers, rescued three wounded men from a shell hole twenty-five yards from the enemy`s trench, buried the bodies of two Officers, and collected many identity discs, although fired on by bombs and machine guns. Altogether he saved the lives of some twenty badly wounded men, besides the ordinary cases which passed through his hands. His courage and self-sacrifice were beyond praise. Died of wounds at a Casualty Clearing Station at Brandhoek near Vlamertinge Extracts from "The London Gazette" 14th Sept 1917 records the following: Location : Wieltje , Ypres area " For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty, when in action. Though severely wounded early in the action whilst carrying a wounded soldier to the Dressing Station, Capt. Chavasse refused to leave his post, and for two days not only continued to perform his duties, but in addition went out repeatedly under heavy fire to search for and attend to the wounded who were lying out. During these searches, although practically without food during this period, worn with fatigue and faint with his wound, he assisted to carry in a number of badly wounded men, over heavy and difficult ground. By his extraordinary energy and inspiring example, he was instrumental in rescuing many wounded who would have otherwise undoubtedly succumbed under the bad weather conditions. This devoted and gallant officer, subsequently died of his wounds." |