Charles Hazlitt Upham

Rank: Captain
Unit: 20th Battalion, 2nd N.Z.E.F. Canterbury Regiment, New Zealand Expeditionary Force.
Awarded: 1st January 1946. This was Captain Upham’s Bar to a VC he was awarded in October 1941.
Nationality: New Zealander

The citation in the London Gazette of 25th September, 1945, gives the following particulars:

Captain C. H. Upham, V.C. was commanding a Company of New Zealand troops in the Western Desert during the operations which culminated in the attack on El Ruweisat Ridge on the night of 14th-15th July, 1942. In spite of being twice wounded, once when crossing open ground swept by enemy fire to inspect his forward sections guarding our mine-fields and again when he completely destroyed an entire truck load of German soldiers with hand grenades, Captain Upham insisted on remaining with his men to take part in the final assault. During the opening stages of the attack on the ridge Captain Upham's Company formed part of the reserve battalion, but, when communications with the forward troops broke down and he was instructed to send up an officer to report on the progress of the attack, he went out himself armed with a Spandau gun and, after several sharp encounters with enemy machine gun posts, succeeded in bringing back the required information. Just before dawn the reserve battalion was ordered forward, but, when it had almost reached its objective, very heavy fire was encountered from a strongly defended enemy locality, consisting of four machine gun posts and a number of tanks. Captain Upham, without hesitation, at once led his Company in a determined attack on the two nearest strong points on the left flank of the sector. His voice could be heard above the din of battle cheering on his men and, in spite of the fierce resistance of the enemy and the heavy casualties on both sides, the objective was captured. Captain Upham, during the engagement, himself destroyed a German tank and several guns and vehicles with grenades and although he was shot through the elbow by a machine gun bullet and had his arm broken, he went on again to a forward position and brought back some of his men who had become isolated. He continued to dominate the situation until his men had beaten off a violent enemy counter-attack and consolidated the vital position which they had won under his inspiring leadership. Exhausted by pain from his wound and weak from loss of blood Captain Upham was then removed to the Regimental Aid Post but immediately his wound had been dressed he returned to his men, remaining with them all day long under heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire, until he was again severely wounded and being now unable to move fell into the hands of the enemy when, his gallant Company having been reduced to only six survivors, his position was finally over-run by superior enemy forces, in spite of the outstanding gallantry and magnificent leadership shown by Captain Upham. The Victoria Cross was conferred on Captain Upham for conspicuous bravery during the operations in Crete in May, 1941, and the award was announced in the London Gazette dated I4th October, 1941.

Additional Information

Upham already had five years experience in New Zealand’s Territorial Army, in which he held the rank of sergeant but he signed on as a private in 1939.
Upham is the only combatant to receive a Bar to his VC. The other two were both doctors in the RAMC.
Branded ‘Dangerous’ as a PoW by the Germans he was sent to Colditz on 14 October 1944.
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.

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