Harry Frederick Whitchurch

Carried a wounded officer back through encircling enemy fire

Harry Frederick Whitchurch was born in Kensington, London, on 22 September 1866, the son of a grocer. After schooling in Britain and continental Europe, he trained in medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital. He entered the Indian Medical Service in 1888 and served in the Chin-Lushai expedition of 1889-90, including operations to relieve Aijal and Changsil. By 1891 he was attached to the 24th Punjab Infantry.

On 3 March 1895 a sortie from Chitral Fort ended in retreat as the defenders encountered superior numbers. Captain Baird lay mortally wounded about a mile and a half from the fort. Surgeon Captain Whitchurch reached him and organized his evacuation with a small party from the Kashmir Rifles. Darkness fell, the enemy broke through the firing line, and the rescuers became isolated.

Baird was initially carried in a litter. As bearers were killed or wounded, Whitchurch took him on his own back for part of the journey. The party repeatedly encountered fire and obstacles on the route, and Whitchurch helped force a passage through positions threatening to cut them off. He brought Baird and the surviving men inside the fort, although Baird had received further wounds. For this conduct Whitchurch received the Victoria Cross from Queen Victoria at Osborne House in July 1895.

He continued his medical service on the frontier, taking part in the defence of Malakand, relief of Chakdara and fighting at Landakai during 1897-98. His subsequent service in China included the relief of the British legation at Peking. Promoted surgeon major in 1900, he was appointed surgeon to the 1st Gurkha Rifles at Dharamsala in 1901. He remained unmarried and died there from enteric fever on 16 August 1907, aged forty. He was buried in the churchyard of St John in the Wilderness.

Official Victoria Cross citation

During the sortie from Chitral Fort on the 3rd March last, at the commencement of the siege, Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch went to the assistance of Captain Baird, 24th Bengal Infantry, who was mortally wounded, and brought him back to the fort under a heavy fire from the enemy. Captain Baird was on the right of the fighting line, and had only a small party of Gurkhas and men of the 4th Kashmir Rifles. He was wounded on the heights at a distance of a mile and a half from the fort. When Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch proceeded to his rescue, the enemy, in great strength, had broken through the fighting line; darkness had set in and Captain Baird, Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch, and the sepoys were completely isolated from assistance. Captain Baird was placed in a dooly by Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch, and the party then attempted to return to the fort. The Gurkhas bravely clung to the dooly until three were killed and a fourth was severely wounded. Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch then put Captain Baird upon his back and carried him some distance with heroic courage and resolution. The little party kept diminishing in numbers, being fired at the whole way. On one or two occasions Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch was obliged to charge walls, from behind which the enemy kept up an incessant fire. At one place particularly the whole party was in imminent danger of being cut up, having been surrounded by the enemy. Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch gallantly rushed the position, and eventually succeeded in getting Captain Baird and the sepoys into the fort. Nearly all the party were wounded, Captain Baird receiving two additional wounds before reaching the fort.

The London Gazette of 16 July 1895, Numb. 26644, p. 4021