William St Lucien Chase

He carried the wounded man across two hundred yards of fire.

William St Lucien Chase was born on the Caribbean island of St Lucia on 2 July 1856, the son of an army ordnance officer. Educated privately, he entered the British Army in 1875 with the 15th Regiment of Foot. Service in India led to his transfer into the Indian Army and an association with the 28th Bombay Native Infantry, a regiment later known as pioneers.

During the Second Afghan War the regiment formed part of the forces holding Kandahar. In August 1880 the city was threatened by Ayub Khan's army after the British defeat at Maiwand. A sortie against the nearby village of Deh Khoja on 16 August ended in heavy losses. The regiment's casualties included its commanding officer, and wounded men were left exposed as the troops tried to return to safety.

Chase and Private Thomas Ashford of the Royal Fusiliers went to the aid of Private Massey, who had taken refuge in a blockhouse after being wounded. Getting him away required carrying him over more than 200 yards while the enemy continued firing. The two rescuers had to stop repeatedly, but did not abandon him.

Their joint citation, published in the London Gazette on 7 October 1881, states that "they persevered in bringing him to a place of safety" (transcription and original group inventory: https://www.victoriacross.org.uk/bbchase.htm). Ashford remained beside Chase and helped throughout the rescue. Both men received the Victoria Cross. Chase was invested at Poona on 23 January 1882 by the General Officer Commanding Bombay.

His later Indian service extended well beyond Afghanistan. He took part in the Zhob operations of 1884, the Chin-Lushai expedition of 1889–90, and frontier campaigns in 1897–98. During the Tirah campaign he served in operations around the Sampagha Pass and the valleys through which the expedition advanced. He eventually commanded his regiment and became a Companion of the Order of the Bath.

Promoted to colonel, Chase died at Quetta in June 1908, before he could take up a further brigade appointment. He was buried in the English Cemetery there. His family retained his decorations for almost a century before presenting the Victoria Cross and campaign medals to the Army Museum of Western Australia at Fremantle on 23 November 2003. The surviving group brings together the rescue at Kandahar and his subsequent frontier service.

Official Victoria Cross citation

For conspicuous gallantry on the occasion of the sortie from Kandahar, on the 16th August, 1880, against the village of Deh Khoja, in having rescued and carried for a distance of over 200 yards, under the fire of the enemy, a wounded soldier, Private Massey, of the Royal Fusiliers, who had taken shelter in a blockhouse. Several times they were compelled to rest, but they persevered in bringing him to a place of safety. Private Ashford rendered Lieutenant Chase every assistance, and remained with him throughout.

The London Gazette of 7 October 1881, Numb. 25023, p. 4990