HERO OF THE MONTH
Temporary Captain Henry John Andrews VC, MBE
Henry John Andrews was the recipient of a rare inter-war Victoria Cross. In fact, between the end of the Great War in November 1918 and the beginning of World War Two in September 1939, there were just 11 actions that led to Britain and the Commonwealth’s most prestigious gallantry award.
Andrews was born in London in 1871 (more precise details of his birth are not known). His father was the foreman in a cardboard box factory and his mother died shortly after her son’s birth. Both his parents were members of the Salvation Army and his mother’s dying wish was that baby Henry (who became known as ‘Harry’) should be cared for by Bramwell Booth, the first chief-of-staff and the second general of the Salvation Army.
This wish was complied with although Booth asked his sister, Emma, to help him with the task. In the book, It Began With Andrews: The Saga of a Medical Mission, Miriam M Richards writes: “When he [Booth] promised to care for a dying mother’s baby boy he was not to know that he was cherishing a seed from which would spring a vital harvest in the field of medical mission work.”
Andrews’ early care and education came at the Salvation Arm…
