Charles Hazlitt Upham (21 September 1908 – 22 November 1994) was a New Zealand soldier during the Second World War. He is one of three people to be awarded a Victoria Cross (VC) twice and the only fighting combatant to be so honoured, the others being doctors Arthur Martin-Leake and Noel Godfrey Chavasse.

Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, he attended Christ's College and later the Canterbury Agricultural College, where he earned a diploma in agriculture. Before the outbreak of the war, Upham worked as a sheep farmer and a manager of a high country station and later at the Government Valuation Department. In 1939, with the advent of war, he enlisted in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, where he quickly rose through the ranks, from private to officer.

Upham's first Victoria Cross was awarded for his actions in the Battle of Crete in May 1941, where he displayed remarkable courage and leadership under fire. Despite being wounded, he led multiple attacks against enemy positions and helped evacuate wounded soldiers. His second was from his actions during the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942, where once again he demonstrated bravery and resilience in the face of intense enemy fire, despite being severely wounded.

After the war, Upham returned to New Zealand, where he continued to farm and became involved in veterans' affairs. He famously rejected offers of financial assistance, preferring to live a quiet life dedicated to his family and community. He died on 22 November 1994 at the age of 86. A state funeral in Christchurch Cathedral on 25 November 1994 was conducted with full military honours, and he was buried in the graveyard of St Paul's Anglican Church.

Early life

Upham was born in Christchurch on 21 September 1908, the son of John Hazlitt Upham, a lawyer, and his wife, Agatha Mary Coates. His father was a great-grandson of artist John Hazlitt, while his mother was a granddaughter of pioneer colonist Guise Brittan. He grew up a quiet, shy boy, very gentlemanly and courteous, and "no trouble at all". He was not a strong child physically, as well as having a slightly shorter leg than the other, leading to a doctor suspecting Upham of having a mild case of poliomyelitis. He boarded at Waihi School, near Winchester, South Canterbury, between 1917 and 1922 and boarded at Christ's College, Christchurch, from 1923 to 1927.

Upham's father was disappointed when his only son elected not to study law and join his father's practice, Charles stating, "I'd always be jealous of my friends on farms". So Upham's father enrolled Charles at Canterbury Agricultural College (now known as Lincoln University), where the practical and theoretical sciences of farming are taught at the university level, joining in 1928.

thumb|left|upright|Upham in 1929

Upham rapidly found himself enthralled with the work. He plunged into the farm and study courses with an enthusiasm that convinced his parents that, after all, it was the right choice. For two years he was first in agriculture and gained firsts also in veterinary science and economics. With a diploma of agriculture, Upham left Canterbury Agricultural College in 1930 to begin life on the land. For the next six years, he learnt his craft in the hills, gullies, and plains of Canterbury. He worked as shepherd, musterer and farm manager.

In 1935, at Riccarton Park Racecourse, he met Molly McTamney, who was a distant relative of Noel Godfrey Chavasse. She was a dietitian working at Christchurch Hospital, after four years of hospital nursing. She was described as "brunette, pretty, and gay". They danced together that evening, and the next day Upham was waiting as she came off duty. He had an armful of red roses for her and he proposed marriage, but she declined, although they both continued in a relationship.

In March 1937, he joined the Government Valuation Department, firstly under supervision, then alone, where Upham quickly assimilated the techniques of land valuation. He was aided by the scientific knowledge gained at Canterbury Agricultural College, but much more by his extensive experience of Canterbury land during his six years' work in the province. The following year, he became engaged to McTamney. In February 1939, granted leave from the Valuation Department, Upham returned to Canterbury Agricultural College to take a course in valuation and farm management.

Now somewhat of an elder statesman, by virtue of his earlier days at the college and his wide farming experience, Upham became a popular favourite of his fellow students. He helped them liberally with their own studies, he played football with just as much vigour as before. The course he took was restricted to men of wide practical backgrounds and was designed primarily to train men for managerial posts in government departments. At the end of the year, he had no trouble with the necessary exams, obtaining his Diploma in Valuation and Farm Management. But the darkening months of 1939 saw Upham thinking more and more deeply about events on the other side of the world.

Second World War

With the call for volunteers in September 1939, after the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) at the age of 30, and was posted to the 20th Canterbury-Otago Battalion, part of the New Zealand 2nd Division.

thumb|[[Claude Auchinleck presents VC ribbon to Upham, 4 November 1941]]

thumb|Upham being congratulated by his [[platoon sergeant after the presentation of the Victoria Cross in November 1941]]

General Sir Claude Auchinleck presented Upham with his VC ribbon at a ceremonial parade by 4 Brigade on 4 November 1941.

North African campaign

In November 1941 he was annoyed when his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel H. K. Kippenberger, decided to leave him out of the second Libyan campaign. Kippenberger believed that Upham "was fretting for more action" and "would get himself killed too quickly". The battalion suffered heavy losses in the campaign, and Upham helped rebuild it as commander of C Company. He was promoted to lieutenant at the time.

Due to his persistent escape attempts, Upham was eventually transferred to Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle in late 1943, a fortress renowned for housing persistent and high-profile Allied escapees. On the trip to Colditz, Upham tried to escape while on a train. During his transfer on the civilian train, while guarded by two Germans, Upham made his final escape attempt. Upham was only allowed to visit the toilet when the train was travelling at high speed to prevent him from jumping through a window. Nevertheless, Upham prised open the toilet window and jumped onto the tracks, knocking himself unconscious. After awakening, he escaped into a nearby orchard, but the even rows of trees and lack of undergrowth provided poor cover, and he was soon recaptured.

As the war drew to a close in 1945, Colditz Castle was liberated by the advancing Allied forces. Upham, along with the other prisoners, was freed, bringing an end to his nearly three-year ordeal as a POW. He headed for the headquarters of the American unit that had captured the town. Upham selected the goods he had come for. He changed into the American combat uniform, fitted on the boots and the U.S. helmet. Then the arms – the Tommy gun, the revolver, two grenades, compass. He prepared to go into action with the Americans. For four days Upham stayed with the U.S. forces in the Colditz area, clothed and equipped as one of them, waiting for the call forward. The pressure of higher orders finally caught him up. "Under no circumstances are released P.O.W.s to be permitted to join active service units, unofficially or otherwise. P.O.W.s are to be evacuated without exception." He reluctantly left the Americans and was soon travelling to England.

In England, he was reunited with McTamney, who was then serving as a nurse. They were married at Barton on Sea, Hampshire, on 20 June 1945. He returned to New Zealand in early September, and she followed him in December.

VC presentation

King George VI invested Upham with his Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace on 11 May 1945. In their exchange, King George said "Well, Captain Upham, I believe this is not your only award. I'm told you've just received a mentioned in dispatches for your attempts to escape. Congratulations for that, too. Tell me, though, what have you been doing since you arrived in London?". "Mostly eating, sir" Upham replied. They later walked through St James's Park together.

Bar to VC

When the recommendation was made for a second VC, the King asked Major-General Howard Kippenberger "What do you think of Upham yourself? Does he deserve another VC?" Kippenberger replied, "I was his Brigadier in North Africa, sir. He did so many brave things, in my respectful opinion, Captain Upham won the VC several times over".

Colonel Burrows approached Kippenberger after the Minqar Qaim action and was already mooting the nomination for a second VC even before the battle at Ruweisat Ridge and Upham's capture. General Lindsay Inglis received citations for both Minqar Qaim and Ruweisat that each individually suggested Upham merited the VC for either occasion independently, but because of the excessive rarity of multiple VC awards, he opted to combine the citations into a single one forwarded to the King.

Citation

With this award, Upham became the third man to be awarded a Bar to the VC. The previous recipients were Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Martin-Leake and Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, both doctors serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Martin-Leake received his VC for rescuing wounded under fire in the Second Boer War, and the Bar for similar actions in the First World War. Chavasse was similarly decorated for two such actions in the First World War, subsequently dying of wounds received during his second action. Neither of these men were combatants, so Upham remains the only fighting soldier to have been decorated with the VC and Bar.

Post-war

thumb|upright|left|Upham in 1984

After the war, Upham returned to New Zealand, and the community raised £10,000 to buy him a farm. However, he declined and the money went into the C. H. Upham Scholarship for children of ex-servicemen to study at Canterbury Agricultural College or Canterbury College.

He obtained a war rehabilitation loan and bought a farm on Conway Flat, Hundalee, North Canterbury.

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 Upham's poor health forced them to retire to Christchurch.

thumb|Upham's gravestone

He died in Canterbury on 22November 1994, surrounded by his wife and daughters. His funeral in the Christ Church Cathedral was conducted with full military honours. The streets of Christchurch were lined by over 5,000 people. Upham is buried in the graveyard of St Paul's Church in Papanui. His death was also marked by a memorial service on 5 May 1995 in London's St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, attended by representatives for the Royal Family; senior New Zealand government and political figures; senior members of the British and New Zealand armed forces; Valerian Freyberg, 3rd Baron Freyberg, grandson of VC holder Lord Freyberg, the commander of Allied forces in Crete and 7th Governor-General of New Zealand; representatives of veterans' organisations; and other VC and George Cross holders.

Victoria Cross and Bar

In November 2006, Upham's VC and Bar were purchased from his daughters by the Imperial War Museum for an undisclosed sum, however Minister of Defence at the time Phil Goff, announced a price of NZ$3.3 million that the family had quoted the Government for a potential purchase of the medal. New Zealand legislation prohibits the export of such historical items, so the Imperial War Museum agreed to a permanent loan of the medals to the National Army Museum at Waiouru. On 2 December 2007, Upham's VC was among nine stolen from locked, reinforced glass cabinets at the museum. On 16 February 2008, the New Zealand Police announced all the medals had been recovered as a result of a NZ$300,000 reward offered by Michael Ashcroft and Tom Sturgess.

Legacy

thumb|right|Charles Upham statue in [[Amberley, New Zealand|Amberley]]

In 1953, Upham was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. In 1992, he was presented with the Order of Honour by the Government of Greece, in recognition of his service in the Battles of Greece and Crete. It was installed and dedicated in May 2015.

A bronze statue stands outside the Hurunui District Council buildings in Amberley, North Canterbury, depicting Charles Upham "the observer".

A Jetconnect Boeing 737-800 was named Charles Upham in August 2011.

A character in 2021 game Call of Duty: Vanguard named Lucas Riggs is loosely based on Upham.

While Upham's Victoria Cross and Bar medals are securely held on public display at the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa in Waiouru, a combat sidearm—a 1916-manufactured .455 Webley Mark VI service revolver—reputedly remained privately within the Upham family estate in the South Island of New Zealand. Research cataloged by military historian and New Zealand Antique and Historical Arms Association President Andrew Edgcombe notes that the firearm lacks government "sold out of service" marks, indicating it was privately retained by Upham after his World War II deployments.

See also

  • New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers

References

Works cited

  • Charles Upham visiting 5th New Zealand Scout Jamboree 1969 (photo)
  • Charles Upham visiting Upham Subcamp at 5th New Zealand Scout Jamboree 1969 (photo)
  • Charles Upham visiting Upham Subcamp at 5th New Zealand Scout Jamboree 1969 (photo)